Bittersweet - Corpse Party
by FamkePenelope
Summary: Captivating story on what happens after the 5 escape from Heavely Host. How will the 5 survivors cope with reality? Written on the outlooks of all characters (though normal p.o.v) so you can clearly see everyone perspective and thoughts. Yoshiki x Ayumi and Satoshi x Naomi Whaaaa? thank you! 59K hits! Finished-
1. Chapter 1- Bittersweet

**Edit by Poffor on Sun 14 Sept 2014**

**Authors Note: This was what started Bittersweet off! I've added a few words here and there to make it flow better and also to make it longer, since I know that it was quite short when I actually wrote it. It was my first (and best actually) fanfic so don't judge it, new comers, by the first three chapters. It gets longer and (hopefully better)**

**Even though it is finished as I write this, I'm going to go back and edit some of the earlier chapters like this, since I know I was a bit careless with my SPaG back then xD**

**Enjoy! xox**

* * *

Hello and welcome to _bittersweet_, my first fanfic.

It had been two weeks since they had escaped, and the happiness of surviving had been replace by shock and mourning. It was bittersweet. No one but those 5 who had been trapped alongside them could remember those who had fallen into the deadly depths of Heavenly Host. Each one of them had recovered from the horrific event differently, though for everyone it was extremely hard, as well as horribly challenging. Reality had smothered them, making them question their own sanity every day. There were times when they were happy to be home, and what came with that was the obvious depression of their missing friends.

Seiko's good humor...

Mayu's smile...

Ms Yui's gentle manner...

Morishige's smart air...

They were wiped out from the world forever. Ayumi Shinozaki was one in the lucky 5 that had escaped from the disastrous hell hole. She couldn't understand how no one could remember them, for they had been in that school, laughing, with them earlier... And now they were gone. Forgotten. Just like that. And she still didn't know why.

"Shinozaki...?" called a familiar voice, ringing around Ayumi's ears as she thought. "Earth to Ayumi!" It was Kishinuma, the boy who had accompanied her through out her entire time at Heavenly Host. He had always been there for her, even saved her a few times back there on multiple occasions, she definitely couldn't of escaped without his constant aid. To Ayumi, He was a good friend.

"Kishinuma!" she replied, snapping out of her contemplation. "Im sorry i was just thinking about..." her voice broke off as Yoshiki met her sad eyes with an equally as solemn expression. It was still a fragile subject amongst her friends, who were still very much traumatized by the whole event, so generally they ceased to even mention it.

Yoshiki lent on the balcony beside her, looking over the playing fields. He looked wistfully at his smaller friend, and wondered what she was thinking about. Ever since they had arrived back at their school, Ayumi would often drift away, lost and surrounded in her muddled thoughts. He wished there was some way he could help her, but he wasn't good enough. Never good enough... That's something that was said to him often. First his parents, then his teachers, and even Ayumi had said it once in an argument they had had previously. They stood in silence, both lost in their thoughts, when a giddy Satoshi approached.

"GUYS!" he yelled, loudly "Its 10% off ALL crepes at the crepere today!"

As soon as he spoke, Ayumi woke from her daze and turned around. Yoshiki marveled at how quick she was to respond...to Satoshi. Naomi wasn't far behind, and was also excited for the discount, since they loved the crepere, and it had become a hit meeting point for the 4 friends recently. Satoshi would often outgoingly pay for Naomi's crepes, and last week Yoshiki had offered to buy Ayumi's hers, as a, you know friendly thing. She had let him buy it, but had never said thank you. That seemed to be their little thing, not thanking each other, since so much had happened between them... Yoshiki sighed.

"Hey, Kishinuma!" called Naomi, from the entrance way, "Are you coming?" Yoshiki had been so lost in his thoughts, that he hadn't noticed them almost leave without them.

"Wait up!" he exclaimed, running to catch up with the others. Ayumi was taking up so much of his thoughts recently. Why? Yoshiki shook his head dismissively and followed the others.

"Haha, not funny Mochida, give that back!" demanded Naomi, glaring at Satoshi, who was waving her crepe in the air "I actually _want_ to eat it!"

Ayumi sighed to herself. She wished Satoshi looked at her the way he looked at Naomi, talked to her like he did to her. But it was hopeless. Satoshi clearly saw her as just a friend, nothing more, and that really bugged her. Suddenly, she felt really lonely and unwanted, like an outcast, like...Yoshiki. How must he feel compared to her? She had a nice family, at least, when he was a lone wolf, living on his own in an iscolated flat. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him. But he was free to do as he wished, which was something her current situation lacked. It was bittersweet.

"Shinozaki." Yoshiki approched her "You drift away so often, it worries me!" Kishinuma, worried about her. Of course he was, she reassured herself, any good friend would care for her. But how come he noticed, when Mochida and Nakashima failed to? She had felt so awful and insecure this morning, but as soon as she got to class she felt... so much different, was it his presence?

"I'm sorry, i didn't think you'd notice. Thanks for buying me a crepe." Yoshiki smiled at her warmly, and she returned it. She suddenly felt hot, and flushed. Her heart rate sped up just looking at him nowadays. It was crazy, she had only ever felt like this near Satoshi, and she never blushed at anyone. How annoying. Quickly she turned the corner and caught up with her other classmates. Satoshi had already dropped Naomi home, and his home wasn't much further away. She could see that he had bought an extra crepe for Yuka, his sister, who had unfortunatly joined them in their time at heavenly host. He obviously cared about her very much.

"Shinozaki," Satoshi started, breaking the silence between the three, "Do you remember when..."

They chatted all the way back to their homes, mostly about the precious times they had shared with Mayu, Seiko and the others. It was bittersweet.


	2. Chapter 2 - Unfair

**Hi everyone! Quick author note here! I don't own anything corpse party!**

**This chapter is mainly a bit more (improvised) back ground info on Yoshiki and some of the other characters. I ****don't think this story will be particularly long, more like a longer one shot.**

* * *

"Yoshiki, you so need to tell her," smirked Satoshi, glancing at Yoshiki from the corner of his eye. "You're always thinking about Shinozaki, aren't you?"

The two good friends were hanging out at Satoshi's house, after a casual day in town with the others, and Satoshi had invited Yoshiki over as they did that quite often. He had accepted gratefully, since he didn't have anything else to do, plus it meant he could see Satoshi's adorable but misfortunate sister, Yuka, who had been with them during Heavenly Host. He was fond of Yuka, and got on well with most of the Mochida family.

"What are you talking about!?" Yoshiki snapped, defensively, crossing his arms. Satoshi smirked again. He knew what was up in his friends mind, ever since Heavenly Host, or actually, a while before that disastrous event even took place..

"Don't lie," Satoshi said lightly "I know you like her!"

What Satoshi said as true. Ever since that run down with the gym teacher, he had seemed to develop a soft spot for the class rep, frequently sticking up for her and protecting her at any cost. He had even saved her life more than once. But he knew what of a big crush she had on Satoshi, and knew that he'd never be able to win her over as long as Satoshi was free and single.

"Its easy. Just admit you like her!"

Yoshiki sighed. Like he could really talk! Satoshi had had a huge crush on Naomi ever since middle school, he had told him himself when they had first become good friends.

"I tried to... but i cant pull up the courage!" he replied, staring at his feet as if they were the most interesting things at that moment..

"BIG BROTHER!" Yuka came running through the door, a huge smile plastered on her face. "Mum said teas ready..." she tugged Satoshi's sleeve, smiling at him cutely.

"Okay, okay...I'm coming!" Satoshi replied, struggling to break from Yuka's grasp. Yuka grinned again, before bidding farewell to a laughing Yoshiki.

"Guess its time for me to go." said Yoshiki, grabbing his jacket "You don't want to keep your...family waiting." he walked down the stairs and picked up his bag from the hallway. He had bought some new music for his guitar; playing it was his favorite hobby, apart from hanging out with Satoshi and his friends. Just before he was about to grab the door handle, Satoshi called from upstairs.

"See ya, Yosh!"

Yoshiki waved at his friend and closed the door quietlt. He only lived a few blocks away from Satoshi, but it was a poorer part of the town compared to the area Satoshi lived in. Lucky Satoshi lived in a spacious four bedroom house, with a large garden and enough room for his whole family of four to live in. Yoshiki lived in a small, two bedroom flat, but the second room was so cramped, he only practiced his guitar in there. He didn't get many visitors, only ever Satoshi or his younger sister, who would occasionally pay him a visit whenever she was in town. It was a lonely life, but he had learnt to be tough and deal with it, for complaining never got you anywhere in life.

He turned the brass key in the lock and walked in, sighing as the room looked as iscolated as ever...

*Strum strum* *Strum Strum STRUM*

It wasn't working tonight for Yoshiki. He reckoned he had a headache, but really it was from all his muddled thoughts that were trapped like bugs in spider webs in his head. He put down his guitar, frustrated, and left the room, slamming the door frustratedly behind him. Sighing, he slouched onto the couch, and turned on his TV. A random channel popped up and displayed the news at that hour, all depressing and boring which gave Yoshiki no comfort in any way possible. Nothing much else was on at that times so he just left it on the previous channel, since he wasn't bothered to get up and do anything else.

As the droning sound wore on, he wondered what Satoshi was doing, in his perfect household. It wasn't fair! How come Satoshi was born into a great family, had great friends, and everyone liked him? When we was born to parents who hated him, ditched him and from that everyone thought he was rough and a bully. Why? he didn't get it. Pushing the off button, he closed his tired eyes.

"Its not fair..." he mumbled, and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ms Yui laughed ominously, twiddling the home room book in her delicate hands. An accusing glare was set in hard lines on her usually calm face, making her look like she hated everything around her.

"Its all your fault, you silly girl!" she hissed, turning away with anger.

A ghostly pale seiko appeared next to her, her hair dishevelled and rope marks clinging to the skin of her thin neck.

"Why did you kill me?"

Morishige, blood covered cell phone clenched in his clammy palms flew out of no where, resting on the floor like he had just landed from somewhere up high.

"I hated that place. You loved it."

Mayu joined the group, blood all over her pretty face, her clothes turned to rags, and missing several vital limps, which made her look harshly zombie like.

"You wanted us to die didn't you?"

They all surrounded Ayumi, glaring at her with fiery eyes or hate and peril. Their elongated ghost arms stretched out to grab her, tugging at her torn clothes, scratching at her cold skin.

"Please...!" Ayumi begged, falling to her grazed knees "I didn't intend for any of this to happen! I hated that place! BELIEVE ME PLEASE!" Her whole body began freezing, she was hyperventilating, badly. She was about to give up on living, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Stop," it called. She could hear footsteps, and instantly, all the ice blue tranclucent ghosts fled, quicker than a single flash of light. It was her brown haired hero Satoshi, holding some sort of bag, but she couldn't tell what it was made of.

"Mo-Mochida!" she cried out, staggering to her feet. Here was her hero, Satoshi, coming to rescue her! After all she'd been through, she just knew he would save her!

"Shinozaki..." he said unemotionally, leaning over to her, his voice plain. "You...LIAR!" and with that he thrust the bag over her head, laughing manically as she struggled to breathe. It wasn't a paper bag to stop her hyperventilating as she had thought, it was a plastic bag, to suffocate her.

"PLEA...OP!STOP STOP STOP! MO...AAHHGHGHGHGH!"

Suddenly a bright flash of light filled her sight, making her head trob with the sudden change. She could her Satoshi's yell of annoyance as he a appeared to fight with something, which was loud and just as strong. Then it was quiet. Silence. The paper bag was lifted over from her head, thankfully she could breathe again! She didn't have the strength to turn to see who had helped her, or even thank them for doing such a outgoing deed. All she could do was gasp for air, dear air... Aiiiiiiiirrrrrrr.

"I never actually thanked you for what you did that day...for crying on my behalf... And...I swore to myself, as soon as I realized we were trapped here... ...that I'd protect you, no matter what happens. This must be a test...to see if I really meant that 'no matter what happens' part!"

Called a safe sounding and protective voice, soothing her sore ears as if it were a lulluby.

Where had she heard that before? Suddenly she heard rapid gunfire, blazing right by him. He turned and grinned at her, the same old smile as always.

"Shinozaki...I..

* * *

***UPDATED ON 28th Sept 2014***

**Just a few spelling corrections and more detail added. Carry on! -**


	3. Chapter 3 - Advice

**A/N: Hello, i'm back, and i just want to clear some confusion thats going on!**

**1\. Don't worry, as soon as you read it, you'll realise of course i didn't kill Yoshiki (he's my fave!)**

**2\. It is a dream, i tried to use quite gauge description so it didn't feel real. It does have a purpose, she wakes up realising something, and it was in Ayumi's point of view.**

**3\. I know you may of been confused with Yoshiki falling asleep, and then the dream suddenly happening, but i think i put 'dreamless' and also it kind of shows (someone pointed it out) how they are kind of connected.**

**So that's basically what i just wanted to say! Thanks and once again enjoy :)**

* * *

"Ayumi, Ayumi?"

Ayumi woke up cold and sweaty. The sheets around her were tangled like a mesh all around her, and her hair was disheveled. She looked up at her worried sister, who had heard her previous distressed cries for help. She sat up, still recalling the awful nightmare she had just encountered. Did they really blame her? She was the one who had suggested the charm after all, but she never, ever intended their deaths, or even going to Heavenly Host!

"Ayumi, are you ok?" said her worried sister, generously handing her an icy glass of water.

Ayumi silently stared at the mellow ripples, mulling over her thoughts, as if all the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

"Thanks. I just need some space..." she replied, after awhile. Her sister nodded, and quietly left the room, closing the midnight blue door behind her.

It was then that she realized the true meaning of the nightmare.

"No...Kishi...Yoshiki doesn't..can't..."

* * *

"Is it just me, or does Shinozaki seem _a lot_ different recently?" commented Naomi, fiddling with something in her locker.

"Does she?" replied Satoshi, who was standing next to her, waiting for her to find her maths book. "I never really noticed!" He turned to talk to a classmate, for a second, and missed Naomi's look of disapproval. Although she too liked Satoshi, she also knew about Ayumi's affections, however, also knew Satoshi clearly didn't have any interest in Ayumi. She felt sorry for the class rep, but annoyed with Satoshi, for not noticing either of their feelings towards him. Suddenly, the bell for class went, so Naomi silently followed her male friend to their class.

Yoshiki and Ayumi were already in the desks, as well as much of the others in the class. Naomi still couldn't get over how no one remembered their fallen classmates, and how suddenly a bunch of new people had supposedly 'taken' their places, and how all the others knew them. It was so confusing! She spotted a popular girl, Takara , handing out paper to the class. She had been in the drama club with Morshige and Mayu, and knew them quite well. Yet when they returned, or ever mention them, she would give them a confused look and smile. It was so sad. As she began solving her maths questions, she glanced over at Shinozaki. The last time she had seen them, was when they had all gone into the centre of town 2 or 3 days ago. She had walked between her and Kishinuma, and she looked so serene and happy, especially when she was around Yoshiki. But now, several days later something had happened. The usual bright light in her eyes had been replaced with a dull glow, she seemed a lot more quiet, and alot thinner. Ayumi was generally a very small and thin girl, lucky her, but she felt like there was still something to it. Maybe she was skipping meals! Why had she taken a sudden turn? Eventhough she had been through so much in the last month, Ayumi wasn't the type of person to give up on life... But neither was Seiko...Seiko...

Naomi shook her head violently. She did not want to think about that. She told herself to focus on the task. Who was closest to her? Yoshiki! Of course, she should talk to him.

"Ah, Kishinuma, wait a sec," called Naomi as she left the class room. She knew he had a free period now, since they'd often hang out at this time and Satoshi and Ayumi had a lesson. She wasn't particularly close to him, since he was a bit too sarcastic for her, but she appericated the friendship that they had.

"Huh? Nakashima, what is it?" he said, turning to face her. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ayumi and Satoshi walking to the next class together. Was it just him, or did he suddenly feel...cold.

"I need to talk to you about Shinozaki" she explained, glancing at him. He flinched but covered it up. What was this all about?

"Ok," he replied "Let's sit in the cafe shall we?"

* * *

"Yes i've noticed too..." said Yoshiki, deep in thought. "I called at her house as usual, but her sister said she had already left." He scratched his head, which was a typical habit of his when he felt perplexed. "I didn't know you were close." Naomi took a sip from her tea.

"We're not in particular," she began, putting the mug back town on the stained table "Its just ever since...Seiko...I've learnt to take more care of my friends." Yoshiki nodded, understanding. He had learnt that too. "We should make her happy...but how? Ghost stories are out of the question now." Naomi said "I can't think of anything else she likes..." Instantly, Yoshiki fell into his usual way, sticking up for Ayumi.

"She loves loads of things! She loves scented candles, video games, manga and going to the cinema to..." Yoshiki glanced at Naomi. She was laughing at him. Laughing?

"Hey Nakashima whats so funny?"

Naomi smiled at him warmly. She understood now. She didn't know in detail what had happened between them, but she knew that something had, enough to change Yoshiki's feelings towards Ayumi, and actually now thinking about it, he had always been particularly caring towards the petite girl.

"You _love _Ayumi don't you?" she teased. Instantly, Yoshiki blushed and tried to look away.

"No, i don't..." he replied, trying his best to put his careless mask on, but it didn't work.

"Haha, don't deny it!" grinned Naomi "Even Satoshi might of mentioned it!"

Yoshiki sighed.

"Bummer. I'll pay him back. I'll tell you that he likes YOU then." he said staring at his coffee. Suddenly, he just realized what he had just said. "Oops."

Naomi stared at him, eyes wide open, like he had just told her she had won the lottery.

"R-r-really?" she said, her hand over her mouth. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly," he replied, giving the mugs back to the staff. "All he talks about is you!"

* * *

"DING DONG!"

"Oh, there goes the bell. See you later Naomi." Yoshiki walked off, in search of Ayumi, who was walking down the left corridor, arms wrapped around a book. As he was about to greet her, she tripped, and dropped the contents of her bag onto the polished wooden floor.

"Ack!" she mumbled, stumbling to her knees. "So...Clumsy!"

Yoshiki got on his knees swiftly and helped pick up her scattered books. People started staring at them, especially at Ayumi, and laughed at whispered amongst eachother. Yoshiki clenched his fists.

"Hey, if you've got something to say about Shinozaki, say it!"

The two girls stared at him, and one started laughing.

"She's such a nerdy, fake idiot," she began, picking up one of her books. It was her favourite notebook, the one she wrote all to do with spirts in. The nasty faced girl ran her finger across the beige feathers that alligned the spine. Ayumi got up to her feet, her bag now packed.

"Please give that back!" she demanded, her voice coarser than usual "That notebook is very special to me. I worked on it with my sister for ages." The rude girl started flicking through the book, whilst the other one began insulting Ayumi.

"...and your such a suck up! Writing little ghosty stories with your big sissy! Haha, such a baby!"

And they didn't stop. They carried on making fun of Ayumi, and although she tried to fight back, it was hopeless. Suddenly the rude girl opened a page of the book, and pointed.

"Look at this Mikau!" she laughed "'I had an awful nightmare last night. The ghosts of our friends in 'heavenly host' were attacking me, i thought i was going to die! I thought Mochida...'Mikau, look at this, 'He tried to kill me but Kishinuma sa..."

Mikau cackled like a possesed witch and snatched the feathery notebook from her friend.

"Why on earth does she carry all this worthless crap around with her?" And with that, she started menacingly tearing up the pages, one by one, feeling satisfied with Ayumi's distressed cries and feeble atempts to get the book back. She was about to do more, but

that's all she got up to. Yoshiki had grabbed the insolent girls collar, and pushed her against the wall, hands around her neck.

"You ever...Go near Shinozaki again, and i won't be SO LENIENT! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO TOUCH OR READ HER STUFF OR MAKE HER FEEL IRELEVENT! YOU WANNA HURT HER, YOU HURT ME FIRST, YOU GOT THAT?"

and with that, she pushed the shocked girl into her friend, grabbed Ayumi's hand and pulled her out of the corridor. The girls fled, close to tears, and they had definatly learnt their lesson. They'd never go near Ayumi again...if that stupid Kishinuma was near her.

"Kis-Kishinuma, why did you do that for me?" Ayumi wept, clutching the ripped pieces of her ripped notebook. Only the cover and spine were really left of her book.

"I need to protect you, Ayumi. Your weakening, and I know your struggling. Please tell me what's wrong with you i need to help!" Ayumi looked into Yoshiki's pleading eyes, and suddenly felt a bond of trust in it. She didn't see what point it was to go back to class.

"Fine," she whispered, leading him out of the school building.

"I'll tell you whats wrong."

* * *

**I hope you understand now. I'll be trying to make the chapters a little longer, sorry if they do seem short! i live in Wales, and we have just broke up ****today for the summer, so hopefully i'll be able to add more to the chapters now that i have more time. Please leave any reviews or questions, it really helps! **


	4. Chapter 4 - Questions

The small park by the sports field was Ayumi's favourite part of school. Their was an ivory coloured fountain right in the centre, and people would often casually flip pennies in it. She often sat on the little bench in between the two trimmed hedges, and would study, or write down thoughts in her spirit book. It wasn't really like a diary, she would write down where, when and how she felt when the presence of the spirits were strongest. Her sister, a peaceful medium, had helped her develop her sense of the spirits and often gave her tips. They had bonded so well over that notebook, and now it was gone forever, ripped into shreds. Like it had never existed...like Mayu, like Ms Yiu...But still, unreplaceable. Not many people actually visited the small area, so to Ayumi, it felt like her secret quiet corner.

She had never shared it with anyone else until now.

"Here, wanna make a wish?" suggested Yoshiki, handing over a copper coin.

"Sure..." she replied, gratefully taking it from his hands. Was it just her, or did she feel a slight jolt run through her fingers as they brushed against his? Of course not. She often imagined things...

She threw the coin in carefully, hearing a reassuring splash as it hit the clear blue water.

"Sooo...What did you wish for?" Yoshiki asked, watching the slight ripples on the water as it sank.

"I can't tell you," she said, smiling at him "Otherwise it won't come true." he laughed, walking over to the bench.

"You really believe that stuff?" he said questioningly.

"I believe a lot of things!" she exclaimed, sitting down beside him. Suddenly, the amber sun dipped behind a murky cloud, making the air sharply cold. Ayumi shivered, wrapping her arms around her, trying to conserve some heat. Yoshiki noticed this, and without thinking, took off his jet black jacket, and carefully draped it around her, trying to make it look casual. Taken aback, Ayumi pulled it over her shoulders, suprising herself how comfortable she was.

"So Ayumi..." he said, turning to her. "What were you going to tell me?"

Ayumi shivered again, biting her lip.

"I wanted to ask you something." She had spent all day trying to build up some courage, and though that being in her favourite place at school might help. It did... a little.

She had discussed with her sister, and she had laughed and smiled when she had brought up the subject.

"You think he likes you?" she had said, amused "Yoshiki Kishinuma?"

"Maybe..." Ayumi had replied, fiddling with her hair tie.

"Do you like him back?"

Do you like him back? Do I? Ayumi had no idea. She had always though that she had a crush on Satoshi...But no, not

anymore.

In reality, she had dropped her books in nervousness, for she was scared to ask him, since she had know idea how he'd react. Sure he was friendly around her, and never failed to stick up for her or even protect her in certain situations. But was that just a friend thing? She did know that they were close, and he wasn't as warm towards Naomi as he was to her. She would never understand, or know, until she asked. So she had to.

No backing down, she told herself. She inhaled deeply.

"Sure, go ahead." he said, relaxed "I'm an open book."

"Y-Y-Yoshiki..." she began, looking up at him. Her eyes met with his, and he looked so peaceful, so warm... not his usual sarcastic and careless self. No, this was another side to him. She liked him...a lot.

"Do you think i'm a horrible person?" Yoshiki was surprised at her question, but soon recovered.

"No!" he said, reassuringly "Actually, I think you're the exact opposite!"

"So then...d-d-do you like...love me?" she blurted out, her heart beating unaturally fast. Blushing, she was quick to apologise, but Yoshiki didn't look that bothered. He looked at her flushed face admirably. She must of been keeping this in for along time, he thought, it must of taken a lot of courage to actually ask him.

"Uh.." he said, blushing slightly himself "Maybe i...well...I" he turned away, turning cherry red with obvious embarresment.

"Just answer me!" Ayumi said quietly, staring at the sun, which had made it's way out from the clouds. The light dappled over them, warming them in the cool breeze.

"Yes!" he shouted "I..I love you!"

Ayumi smiled to herself, her body warm and buzzing. Yoshiki was still turning away from her, his palm facing her. On impulse, she grasped his hand, feeling that same jolt flow through her like the one that she had experienced earlier. Taken aback, Yoshiki turned to face her, giving her a confused look. However, he didn't pull away.

"Wha..?" he said, as she clutched his hand.

"I really...I love you too!" Ayumi declared, lauging.

"But, I thought you had a crush on Satoshi?" he said cooly (he was secretly elated)

"I thought i did..." Ayumi adimitted "But I had this dream..."

She recounted the dream to him in great detail, still clutching his warm hand like a doll.

He listened intently, nodding now and again, and was worried about what she thought.

"Don't be silly," he said, assuringly "I bet no one blames you for what happened there. It was an awful ordeal, but all you wanted was to keep us friends for ever!"

Ayumi smiled. She knew he would understand! It was just like her dream...Yoshiki would always be there for her, 'no matter what'.

"Yoshiki..." she giggled, looking up at him.

"Shinozak-Ack!"

He found her in his arms. She wrapped herself around him, sighing happily, her head against his head. They could feel each others hearts beat, at exactly the same time.

* * *

"Naomi?" called Satoshi, from the school entrance. "I can't find Yoshiki anywhere..." Naomi grinned. She had a feeling she knew where he was.

"He's proberbely forgot." laughed Naomi, falling in step with him.

"Pft!" Satoshi muttered in annoyance "He's always with Shinozaki...I hardly see him without her."

"They seem to be close." admitted Naomi. She herself was actually, still getting over the fact that Satoshi apparently loved her. She didn't know whether to believe Yoshiki, though he didn't seem like he was joking. But she couldn't exactly trust him, could she? It would be silly to suddenly jump to conclusions!

"Hey, Naomi," said Satoshi, "Do you wanna come to the beach tomorrow? It'll be fun!" Suddenly Naomi's heart lifted. Was he asking her out.

"Sure!" she said happily "Of course i'll come." Satoshi looked pleased. But that was hardly how he felt inside.

"Cool! I'll ask Yoshiki and Ayumi if they want to tag along too!"

Naomi's heart sank. Of course it wasn't going to be a date. She shrugged her, shoulders; she didn't feel like talking anymore. It wasn't long until they were on her street, and they finally reached her door.

"Well, i'll see you tomorrow!" Satoshi said, waving goodbye. Naomi didn't reply.

As Satoshi walked home, he cursed himself. Why did he suddenly panic? He had promised himself all day he would ask him out, and he was secretly relieved that Yoshiki and Ayumi hadn't showed up. It was the perfect moment, he told himself, clenching his fists in annoyance, why had he backed down?

* * *

*BLEEP*

"Huh?" said Satoshi, fumbling in his pockets for his phone. It was a text from Yoshiki.

-From: Yoshiki-To: Me-

Hey, you still going 2 the beach tomorrow?

Is Naomi coming?

P.s might of said something about you liking

her by acciedent. Soz!

Huh? So Naomi knew? Satoshi knew Yoshiki would get him back for telling Ayumi about his feelings... Ugh.

-From: Me-To: Yoshiki-

I knew u would get me back.

Where were u after school?

*BLEEP*

-From: Yoshiki-To: Me-

I was with Shinozaki.

Talk 2 u tomorrow.

With a sigh Satoshi turned off his phone. Had Yoshiki confessed to Ayumi? He wondered...

* * *

**This was one of my favourite chapters to right!**

**I promise some more ****adventure/action soon.**

**Thanks again for reading! :-)**


	5. Chapter 5 - How we want to be

**hi again! I will upload again today, since I'm in London, my dad has an interview. Bleugh. See**

**you on!**

* * *

"Hey shinozaki."

"Hey. Let me just get my bag."

Yoshiki was on his way to Satoshi's, and had called in for Ayumi on the way.

Ayumi had dashed back into her hall to grab her bag. She blushed, remembering what had happened when she last saw him. After they left school, they walked hand in hand back to her house, and they had talked about random, stupid stuff in each others company. It was so perfect. Of course she had some explaining to do to her sister about the spirits notebook But on their way home, Yoshiki had bought her a new one from the stationary shop. She couldn't get over how sweet he was.

"Thanks for waiting. By, Hinoe!" Her sister waved from the living room. She could sense spirits around her sister today, but she hadn't discussed it with Ayumi, since she had spent all her time daydreaming and thinking about that silly boy, Kishinuma. Hinoe didn't mind, though, at least he made her happy, and that was the families priority, ever since she came back from that dreadful place. She watched as her younger sister skipped down the road, chatting to Yoshiki, who was strolling casually beside her.

"Today's gonna be great!" Ayumi exclaimed, staring at the perfect periwinkle blue sky. Yoshiki nodded in agreement. Satoshi was planning to walk on the beach, then go for ice cream on the new pier. He had never actually been there, and was looking forward to it, especially since he would be with Ayumi.

* * *

Satsohi was also looking forward to the trip out. Naomi was due at his house any minute now, and he was determined to make up for her disappointment yesterday. Huh? What was he thinking? Naomi wouldn't have any reason to be disappointed... and of course, he was just good old Satoshi, her friend after all. He sighed.

"Morin' 'Toshi!" squealed Yuka, hurriedly running down the carpeted stairs. "What are you doing today?" Satoshi laughed as she pulled him to the kitchen, where his mother was clearing up the breakfast dishes. His father was subsequently at work, since he sometimes had weekend shifts.

"I'm going out with Naomi and the others," Satoshi told her, handing some empty glasses to his mother. Yuka smiled, remembering how kind Naomi was to her during her traumatic experience in Heavenly Host.

"Naomi's really pretty!" Yuka said, perching on a seat "Isn't she, Toshi?"

Satoshi looked up at her.

"Yeah. She is." Suddenly the doorbell went, and a rather overenthusiastic Yuka ran to get the door.

"Yuka?" called a sweet female voice. It was Naomi.

"Hi Naomi," greeted Yuka "Big brothers in here..." In a few seconds, she had found Satoshi and bought him to the door. Yuka grinned and said "Have fun with your GIRLFRIEND, Toshi!", before closing the door with a giggle. Naomi's cheeks tinged pink with a slight embaressment. Why would Yuka say somehting like that?

"Yuka's bubbly as always!" commented Naomi, friendily

"Yeah," replied Satoshi, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder "Though i wish she would act more her age sometimes. She is 14 you know!"

The pair waited out side Satoshi's house, keeping a sharp eye on the distance for the others. It wasn't long before they sighted Yoshiki and Ayumi, who were listening to Yoshiki's iPod.

"What're you listening to?" asked Naomi. The two students were sharing one pair of earphones. Ayumi took her one out, and gave it to Naomi. It was guitar music, of one of Ayumi's favourite songs, Clarity. She hadn't heard this before and was quite surprised when Ayumi told her it was a recording of Yoshiki playing.

"Wow!" exclaimed Naomi "This is really good Yoshiki!"

Yoshiki looked slightly annoyed. "Why'd you have to let her listen?" muttered Yoshiki, taking his ear plug out and giving it to Ayumi. "Here, you to listen to it."

"How are you?" butted in Satoshi, who felt rather put out. He always used to be the main person of the group, the popular one, that glued everyone together. It was different now.

"Fine," replied Yoshiki, nudging Satoshi to one side. The girls were still listening intently to some other songs on Yoshiki's ipod.

"What is it?" Satoshi said, and Yoshiki recalled the happenings of yesterday in the park with Ayumi. Satoshi was happy that she seemed to return Yoshiki's feelings, however, was annoyed that Yoshiki seemed to have someone love him before he did.

"So she asked you if you loved her?" said Satoshi, puzzled.

"Yup, basically." nodded Yoshiki, ducking under a large cherry tree.

"Do you think... Naomi likes me?" Yoshiki glanced at his wistful friend. Satoshi never usually asked questions, he was the one everyone went to for advice. But now he was, and Yoshiki wanted to be of good use to him.

"Well, she looked pretty pleased when i accidentally told her!" he said, clapping Satoshi on the back. "Let's not mull over things."

"Look, theres the beach!" pointed out Naomi, who by now had given the ipod back to Ayumi. Ayumi had slipped it in her bag; it was nice to have something of Yoshiki's close to her.

"Oh yeah!" said Satoshi, distracted from his worried thoughts.

"Come on," said Ayumi, impulsively grabbing Yoshiki's hand, "What are we waiting for? I've never been here before!" The couple ran off around the corner, Ayumi dragging a startled Yoshiki behind her.

"Are they together?" quirered Naomi, curiously.

"I'm not sure..I think their just really close right now." Satoshi shuffled his feet anxiously on the pavestone, waititng for a good time to cross. Was this the perfect moment? He saw Naomi wanting to cross, so he followed her silently.

* * *

The sand was like a sun kissed blanket on their feet, and they could spot the rolling waves of the sapphire sea in the distance. By the time Satoshi and Naomi had caught up, Yoshiki and Ayumi were working together to set up a complicated windbreaker. Satoshi grabbed a picnic blanket from Ayumi's bag and put it in the middle of them. Feeling relaxed, Naomi kicked off her floral sandals and flopped down next to Satoshi, who had gotten snacks and drinks out.

"Please can I have a coke?" asked Naomi politely.

"Sure," said Satoshi getting out one of the ruby red cans. He handed it to her, and then got one for himself. Meanwhile, Yoshiki was getting impatient, since Ayumi was giving him all sorts of crazy instructions, and plus it was scorching weather.

"You put the hook in here...no wait, that might be the third one.." mused Ayumi, holding the instructions upside down.

"Come on Shinozaki," Yoshiki complained "Make your mind up!"

"It won't take as long if you down complain!" retorted Ayumi, picking up another metal hook "But im sure it goes backwards." in her confusion she stepped on Yoshiki's bare feet, and he shouted in alarm!

"Watch it!" he said his usual temper flaring up. Ayumi threw him an upset look, and he instantly felt guilty. "Sorry.." he said, securing the last hook for the windbreaker.

Ayumi shrugged her shoulders; she knew they didn't agree on everything. The other two sat next to the drinking others, and noticed how quiet they were being.

"Sheesh guys," commented Ayumi "Lighten up..." Satoshi smiled, trying to act natural.

"Let's go swimming! At least While the sea's warm,"

The others nodded, taking their sand ridden shoes off. "Do you need to get changed?" Satoshi asked the girls, showing his usual outgoing self.

"I've got my swimming stuff underneath," replied Naomi, turning to her smaller friend. Ayumi had been so engrossed in her thoughts this moment, that she had forgot to put it on underneath like she usually did.

"Uh," said Ayumi, blushing "I'll catch up with you later..."

* * *

The wet sand was uncomfortable underneath Satoshi's feet. Both him and Yoshiki had worn their swimming shorts on the way, but had left the girls back by their spot, and they had started walking towards the sea. It wasn't long untill Naomi and Ayumi had caught up with the boys, and they were both quite exitcted. The prospect of the icy waves cooling their skin was quite anticipating, since a sudden heat wave had hit the city.

"Last one in pays for ice creams!" Yelled Naomi, wading into the water. Satoshi followed with an alarmingly huge splash, and was joined by Yoshiki, who only ran because he couldn't afford to pay for everything. Ayumi was more cautious with the water, since she was unaware of what spooky things or spirits might be lurking there.

"Ha, Shinozaki," laughed Satoshi, now waist deep in the ocean "looks like your paying." Slightly annoyed, Ayumi dipped her hands in the turquoise waves, and flicked the water playfully at Satoshi. He yelled in shock, since in he was now soaked, from head to toe.

"Hey!" The others started laughing at his feeble atempts to splash her back, but she was to small and quick to be caught. In the process of carrying out his revenge, he accidentally splashed Naomi, making her squeal in surprise. Sure enough, the few splashes escalated into a huge water fight between the four of them, and they were thrashing around crazily in the waves. People stared at them from closer to the shore, but they couldn't care less.

This how they wanted to feel. Happy and surrounded by others, instead of letting the hurt from the horrific events take over their minds.

They left the water a while after, and Yoshiki and Satoshi set up a volleyball net. Naomi was by far the best at sports, and excelled in sports lessons at school. She was also noticeably intelligent, and often came up with well planned strategies in a sport. Ayumi and Satoshi were not as good as the others, since Satoshi was notoriously clumsy and would often make a fool of himself (even though he did try his hardest) and since Ayumi was small, she found it difficult to keep up and therefore grew fatigued quicker than the rest. After a far time of panting with no success, Ayumi quit the game, and watched from the picnic blanket, where she decided to read her book. She was quite the bookworm, but would read about how to witness and communicate with spirits rather then fairytale fiction, which was what Naomi preferred.

* * *

"Huh," exclaimed yoshiki, marveling at the new pier "it's bigger than I thought!" The group had now decided to stroll along the large pier, that had just been newly renovated by popular demand. Satoshi loved this pier, for he often visited it with Yuka and the rest of his family. Naomi had also been there before, but it was a first for Yoshiki and Ayumi. As they passed through the grand arch of the entrance, Yoshiki spotted a nice cream stand, and lead Ayumi towards it, since she was paying.

"What flavour do you want?" Called Ayumi, fiddling in her purse.

"Chocolate!"

"Raspberry ripple, please."

She ordered for Satoshi and Naomi. The ice cream man smiled, and got out a shiny metal scoop. Ayumi turned to Yoshiki.

"What do you what, Yoshiki?" Yoshiki blushed. She had called him by his first name...

"Ugh...Mint choc chip."

"And two mint choc chips please." The friendly faced man nodded, getting two more cones out.

"That'll be ¥ please!' Ordered the man, handing over the ice creams. Satoshi and Naomi thanked Ayumi gratefully, and walked over to the balcony with their various ice creams. The water was now calm, and a lone, pale seagull floated on the waves, bobbing along like a buoy. Soon Ayumi and yoshiki joined them, licking their ice creams in appreciation. It was lovely to hang out with friends, Yoshiki thought to himself, he had never felt like this before.

"It's unbelievably hot..." Mumbled Satoshi, wiping his brow

"Not for long," said Naomi, pointing at the sky "Look at those clouds, it's gonna rain soon." Satoshi moved his line of vision away from the seagull and to the sky. Naomi seemed right, but how could it rain so suddenly after such great weather.

"We should head back," agreed Yoshiki, putting his jacket on, "It is getting chilly." So the small party walked back down the wide pier, disappointed that they would have to leave earlier than expected! Suddenly Ayumi spotted something on the wall. It was a picture... No, words, written on the inside wall of the entrance with thick black marker

"Guys..." Ayumi said, peering at it curiously "What does that say?"

The first line was written neatly, in curvaceous hand writing, but had rubbed of a bit due to time.

"M...y.u was h...e 1../6/...ier."

"Huh, Shinozaki, what have you found?" Asked Naomi, turning towards her. Ayumi tried to read the next line. It too, was blurry.

"An...Mo...hig...too"

Suddenly, Ayumi felt lightheaded. The once unreadable words had suddenly appeared on the wall, making her feel slightly uneasy and ill. She ran her sandy finger along the pen lines. A flash of blinding blue light appeared in front of her, and she let out a piercing scream...

"Mayu was here on the 11/6 on the pier and Morshige too xxx


	6. Chapter 6 - Ayumi's Song

They had all seen the bold of thunder in the distance, but Ayumi was the one who reacted worse to it. She was squealing unexplainably, shifting around in uncontrollable movements. Naomi and Satoshi exchanged quick, worried looks. What on enough had gotten into their friend? But yoshiki knew. During their time at heavenly host, when they had escaped with Yuki, Ayumi had relived Yukis death while still in the room. She was screaming and making random movements, and he had been worried sick abut her. Whose life had she slipped into? What was she experiencing? Suddenly, she let out a sullen whimper, and passed out. Yoshiki was just quick enough to catch her in his arms, and quickly explained the situation to his worried friends. 'Damn it,' he thought, 'what was he gonna do?' He couldn't seem get through to her, so he made a bold decision.

"I'm going to take her to my place," he said, slinging her arm over his shoulder. Ayumi was light and it wouldn't be too hard to carry her, since he had done it a few times already during the dark times of heavenly host. The others nodded. Naomi was planning to go to Satoshis house afterwards anyway, so they split up. Yoshiki promised to get her to explain and would text them after she woke up. He started on his mission through the rain to his little flat on the other side of the town. It was still a long way..

* * *

(I'm back on the pier again...)

Mayu felt a slight shiver run through her spine. She was waiting for Morishige, he was due to meet her by the old pier any minute now, to practice for the auditions for the new production in their drama club. Suddenly, she spotted the serious looking boy down the road. He was wearing a casual outfit, it was always the same

"Hey Shig, bro!" She yelled, calling him over to the entrance way. "Did'ya bring the scripts?" Morishige nodded, handing the folder to his companion. As they strolled through the arch, Mayu skimmed the script, looking for any highlighted characters, since Morshige would often highlight the characters he was interested in.

"You want to play Arataka?"'asked Mayu, reading the role description. Arataka was a great detective and one of the main three characters in the play.

"Yeah. Arataka has a 'side kick', a girl called Koroa." Morishige added, pointing to her character description. Mayu laughed. It was highlighted?!

(Why the hell would Morshige highlight a girls role? He always was strange...)

"You want to play that role too?" Commented Mayu with a slight smirk. Morishige sighed in frustration, Mayu could be so obnoxious sometimes.

"Don't be stupid," he muttered "I was thinking you could play her. Then we would work together, no?" Mayu laughed. Her friend got so worked up sometimes.

"I was joking," teased Mayu "And I actually think that was a good idea!"

They were right on the pier now, right above the rolling waves.

"Do you want to be an actor for a career?" asked Mayu, looking at her friend.

"I wish," he said, sullenly "but I'm not popular, no one would choose me?"

"That's not what matters!" Retorted Mayu "it's only ability that counts." Morishige shrugged, still adamant that he was right.

"Anyway, what about you?" he quickly asked, changing the subject.

"Well...don't laugh at me," she said blushing. Morshige nodded reassuringly. Mayu had never made fun if his ambitions, so he had returned her favour.

"I just want to make everyone happy! I wanna run charities, save the environment, mace everyone equals!" Morshige noticed the determination in her bright eyes. "I've actually already started a prodject with a charity, and I'm saving up to help funding!"

"Oh?" Questioned Morshige "What's it for?"

Mayu turned to her friend, she was glad someone was interested. Her father was to busy with work to care what she did, and her mother didn't show much interest.

"It's to fund lots of drama clubs around the county!" Mayu continued

"It's not much, but I get to help with one of the openings right after the culture festival isn't that great!"

(Ack my head...)

Suddenly the time went by like it was being fast forwarded, and a thousand images whizzed by in minutes, seconds even. Suddenly, there was another great flash of blue blinding light and then, it was pitch black.

* * *

He glanced at the unconcious girl. As soon as he had stumbled back into his flat, he had laid her on his couch. He'd gathered all the pillows he possessed and arranged them in arched fashion. As soon as he felt her forehead, he knew that she had a fever, and had rushed to get her a cold flannel and cotton blanket. The anxious boy had done everything he could to make her feel comfortable, but in his heart he knew she deserved so much more. He reflected on the happenings at the park...did she really mean it? Did she love him? Or did she simply feel sorry for him? He was perched on the edge of the couch, right next to her, protectively clutching her sweaty hands, when her brow suddenly furrowed and she stirred.

"Y..Yo..Yoshiki?" She whispered, slowly opening her cobalt blue eyes

"Ayumi!" He exclaimed, relieved "You were having another of those...visions, weren't you?Ayumi nodded. She didn't think Yoshiki would of remembered that she had those visions, but he did, and that made her smile.

"What was it about?" Ayumi looked up. She wasn't at home, she was lying on some couch, with Yoshiki looking straight through her soul as if looking for answers. In her confusion, she sat up.

"Where am I? Where's Hinoe?" She said, suddenly succumbing to a panic.

"After you passed out," explained Yoshiki "I carried you.. To my place." Ayumi looked at him in a strange way. If she had passed out, then wouldn't it of been best for him to take her home, where Hinoe would of surely of cared for her! She took a good look around. It wasn't as shabby as she might of imagined, it was actually quite a warm and cosy flat. Music sheets were scattered everywhere, on the kitchen table, on windowsills...everywhere. She knew he loved music, but had no idea to what extent. The couch was large, and took up a good portion of the mostly open plan room.

"You didn't have to stay with me..." she said, stretching.

"Yes I did!" He retorted, clenching his free hand "I need to protect you... I promised myself 'no matter what happens'!" Ayumi glanced at him, lying back down.

"Now I remember...it was you."

Confused, Yoshiki demanded for her to tell him what had happened in her dream.

"It was Mayu and Morishige, they were on the pier," she bit her lip, "They...They were talking about what they wanted to do when they graduated... But now their both gone! Dead! Forgotten!" Ayumi started sobbing helplessly. "Yoshiki, it's all my fault!" Instantly, Yoshiki was back by her side, an arm around her trying to comfort her, or at least calm her down.

"AYUMI, DONT BLAME YOURSELF AGAIN," he shouted frustratedly.

After awhile, her breathing slowed down, And she stopped crying. She looked so tired.

Yoshiki sighed. This was really getting out of hand! But what he know about spirits...He glanced at the time on his phone. He had been watching her, thinking, for over two hours.

"It's late, I'm gonna go to bed," Yoshiki, standing up, his back aching. He was fatigued.

"NO!" cried Ayumi, grabbing his arm and pulling him back beside her. "I need you to stay with me! Every night I have nightmares, but when I'm with you I'm..." She stopped. She was blabbing to much about her stupid feelings. "Sorry.." she shivered, and realised she was still wearing the days crumpled clothes, but much to her surprise yoshiki didn't pull away. Instead he came and lay down next to her, his arm brushing against hers. It was dark...

"It's gonna be okay, Shinozaki," Yoshiki said, snaking an arm around her waist. The same jolt went through her body, making her blush in the dark.

"Mmmm," she said, curling up into his chest. He was still wearing that jacket...actually thinking about it, she hadn't seen him not wearing before! He was so warm...

"Ayumi..." He said, brushing some of her inky black-blue hair out of her flushed face. His fingers, hard from plucking guitar strings, felt rough against her hot skin. They traced her eyes, nose, lips...

"Hmm?" She whispered. She looked at him. He was fast asleep...

* * *

Ayumi woke up to the bright sunlight shining through the sheer blinds. Her limbs were tangled with his, and she realised she still had a tight grip on his hand. Quickly, she sat up, being careful not to disturb Yoshiki, who was still deep in sleep.

*BLEEP*

A text had come through through. It was Hinoe, asking where she was. Luckily, her parents were away on a business trip, otherwise she would of been utterly, screwed. She decided that she better not worry her sister for much longer. Nervously, she searched around for some paper so she could leave a note for Yoshiki, it would be plain rude not to. Thinking she had found one, she picked up a pen, and turned the sheet over check nothing was there. When she did, she saw that it was one of his many music sheets...but this one seemed different. The notes were scribbled on carelessly, and it definitely didn't come from one of his music books. She scanned the page curiously, and soon enough found a title. She let out a small gasp when she read it.

'Ayumi's Song'

How sweet! Yoshiki Kishinuma, a sarcastic, rude person... Had been sweet enough to write an entire song for her! She was sure of it now, he didn't lie to her. After shuffling around in some drawers, she eventually found some post it notes and a black biro. This was the message she was kind enough to leave:

Hinoe worried bout me. Sorry...

P.s thx for helping me last night :3

Ayumi xx

She glanced one last time at Yoshiki, whose dirty-blonde hair was dishevelled and his eyes still shut. Careful to make no noise, she unlocked the door, walked out, locked the door again and posted the keys back through the letter box.


	7. Chapter 7 - Misery for Satoshi

**Hey people! I apologise for some spelling errors of Morishige! In the previous chapters I hat spelt it 'Morshige'. Hard to keep up with all these Japanese names! Don't worry, I will go through and edit it soon. Thanks!**

* * *

Yoshiki stretched, his tired arms knocking several pillows off the couch. Why was he asleep on the couch? Had he fallen asleep watching tv? Suddenly the memories of last night flooded back to him, making him blush slightly. He remembered Ayumis freakish spirit vision, the panick as he rushed home, and how he had tried his best to comfort her last night. Shrugging his warm jacket off, he looked around the room for signs of Ayumi, before finally finding the neon blue post it note she had written. Yawning, he read the note through, his vision still blurry from sleep. He wasn't sure what to make of the note. They seemed to be more than friends last night, but was she pushing him back in the friend zone this morning. Girls were so confusing, he thought as he quickly got changed. Blinking, he looked at the date on his phone.

"Dammit," he muttered to himself, "I'm gonna be late for work if I eat." Sighing, he had to sk another meal, but nonetheless walked cheerily to work. His worked as a assistant in the high street music store, nothing big, but he needed the extra money on the side to live. His shift was nine still two in the afternoon, and for once, he was actually looking forward to it.

He had a great bond with his boss, and sometimes the kind old man would let him borrow instruments once in awhile, since he knew about and shared Yoshikis love of music. It was now the middle of the month, and that was usually when he would let Yoshiki choose one of the many second hand guitars (he couldn't use the new ones). Grinning he walked through the door, greeting the receptionist. He could finally compose the final part of his 'secret prodject.'

* * *

Meanwhile, Satoshi was not feeling so great. Yesterday had been another failed atempt to confess his feelings to Naomi, even if she was alone over his house yesterday. To his relief, Yuka was at a birthday party, and his parents had gone out, so it was just him and her. But once again, he hadn't had the courage to tell her. He recalled the happenings of yesterday, whilst sprawled among his bed sheets.

* * *

"I hope Ayumis ok," Naomi had said, as soon as she had reached Satoshis room. She had never been close to the class rep, and often had disagreements over things, and their egos would always seem to crash. Originally, Naomi thought it was because they had both liked Satoshi, but now she was supposedly with Yoshiki now, and seemed to be a bit more warm towards her. She'd still get annoyed with her occasionally, but it wasn't exactly the catty fights they had had before heavenly host.

"Yeah me too," nodded Satoshi, closing the door. In reality he wasn't that bothered by Ayumis outburst, she often had those weird panick attacks, sow he didn't worry too much.

"But it's a shame, I really wanted to go to the new arcade."

"Yeah," Naomi nodded "So did I, but I always suck at all of the games."

"No you don't! They purposely make it hard to reel you in!"

"You should of noted that last time. You spent all your months savings trying to win that plushie!"

Satoshi felt himself go a slight tint of pink. Although Naomi had never found out, if he won it, he was going to give it to Naomi.

"I'm not that bad..."

"Yes you are! Oh, forget it."

The two chatted, for awhile, mostly recalling all the great memories they had had with Seiko and the others, untill Satoshi grew slightly bored, and suggested to play video games. Naomi wasn't a great gamer, but enjoyed playing alongside her friends, however bad she may be. Satoshi found it amusing to see her rage in anger when they played racing games, since she could never master the controls, or, beat Satoshi. The game was one of favourites, one he would often play with Yoshiki whenever he came round, which was quite often.

"Ugh," muttered Naomi, repeatedly jabbing the controls "which one is it?"

Satoshi laughed, smiling at his frustrated friend. Gently leaning over, he placed her hands on the correct controls for the game. Naomi blushed, surprised to feel how soft Satoshis hands were, and how he was so casually touching her.

"There you go," Satoshi said beaming, "Have another go,"

Naomi nodded, picking up the controller again, a light feeling buzzing inside of her. Carefully, she watched how Satoshi raced, and was quick to copy his quick movements. Despite improving, he still beat her narrowly by three places.

"Not too bad," mused Satoshi, putting his controller down, "for a girl..."

"Hey, that's sexist!" said Naomi, frowning, "Ayumi plays horror games all the time, have you seen her?"

Satoshi nodded shuddering. Although he loved video games, he could not stand horror games, since he'd often freak out at jump scares.

"She's a freak for liking them though!"

"Yeah I suppose," agreed Naomi "how can Kishinuma stand her?"

"I dunno. Their a cute couple..."

"Opposites attract, eh?" Smirked Naomi.

"Mmmm...Naomi I was meaning to ask you something."

Naomi's eyes widened, was this the moment she had been waiting for?

"Sure...go ahead."

"Well, I was wondering if..."

Satoshi blushed, embarrassed, and turned away, ashamed that she wasn't brave enough to ask her. Panicking, he tried to think of something to say, something friendly, a different question.

"You don't have to hold back," reassured Naomi warmly. Satoshi smiled, but inside he was dying.

"Your right. I was wondering if you were having any...strange nightmares about the heavenly host lately?"

Naomi was quite surprised that he asked that, but quickly covered it up with a thoughtful mask.

"Well...I had this one dream about Seiko..."

"Go on."

"She was a spirit...you know like those transparent ones we saw?"

"Yeah."

"And she was roaming around the broken corridors, searching for something...but she still felt deaths pain, continuously, and relived the memory of me hanging her, again...and again, all the time."

Satoshi but a caring arm around her, trying to comfort his close friend. "Did you have any?"

"Yeah." He began, "but they were different. I saw Yuki and the other child spirits, looking over a blood stained map. Yuki and Ryou read the words out, and to me, it sounded like something Kibiki would of written."

Naomi looked strangely puzzled.

"Why were they looking at a map, they know the space so well!"

Satoshi shrugged his shoulders, staring out at the cobalt blue sky.

"There just dreams..."

As Naomi thought about the strange 'dreams', Satoshi kicked himself mentally for not asking her out. It was another perfect opportunity wasted.

* * *

That was all he wanted to recall, and lay on his messy bed again.

He was usually the cool and confident member of the group, but ever since heavenly host, that had slowly slipped away, replaced with anxiety. His head felt hot and heavy, and he was sweating all over. He found it difficult and hard to breath, and he bad a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was was this strange feeling he had

His observant sister Yuka, had noticed Satoshi was feeling down, so was planning to give him a present. Quietly, she went under her bed and dragged out a large silver box tied up with a coarse violet ribbon, Yukas favourite colours by far. It contained her secretly large scented beads collection, all lined up in rows according to colour and flavour. It was her little collection obsession.

"What's brothers favourite colour?" Yuka asked herself, scratching her head. She quickly peered into Satoshis room, being careful not to disturb him, as he was in a fitful sleep. Most of the furniture in his room was blue, the same as the colour of the sky today, acknowledged Yuka. Now, she just had to pick which flavour. Blueberry, bubblegum and sea salt, were the range of flavours under the blue section. It was an easy pick, since one of Satoshis favourite things was the sea, so he must love the smell of it.

Happily, she skipped into his room, her small hands tightly wrapped around the neck of the bottle which held the scented beads in, and reached Satoshis brother.

"Brother?" said Yuka, peering over her brother, who was slumped on his bed, "Wake up, it's almost lunch time!"

Much to her annoyance, Satoshi did not respond, and stayed in the same, slumped position.

"BROTHER?!" Shouted Yuka, right in his ears, thinking that would surely wake him up. But yet again, he didn't respond. Suddenly Yuka felt worried, and she was right to. Satoshis nose had started bleeding, yet he still lay there, unaware.

"Big..bro...MUUUUUUMMMMYY HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!"

Satoshi had stopped breathing.

* * *

"So you saw the same blue light," repeated Hinoe, waving a hand over her sisters face. Ayumi had gone into one of her dream like states, and she did it so often it had started to get on her sisters nerves. No doubt she was thinking about that boy again, she could sense his presence near her, like a part of him was there all the time...

"Ayumi," he sister said sharply, tapping her on the shoulder. "You have something that doesn't belong to you, don't you?" Ayumi sighed, glancing at her irritated sister. She had no idea what she was talking about, and she was in no mood for talking about spirits again.

"Yes I saw a blue light, just the same as whenever I have a vision."

Hinoe nodded, her mousey brown hair bobbing as she wrote in the new spirt book. Ayumi was going over Hinoes previous questions in her head, since she was one step behind. Something not hers...something that didn't belong to her? She fumbled in her hoodie pockets, sensing something that her sister must have earlier.

"Oh crap," Ayumi cried, "I've got Kishinumas iPod still!"

Hinoe looked at her sternly, partly for her taking the iPod and partly for swearing so casually.

"Don't swear, the spirits disprove of such coarse language."

Ayumi rolled her eyes, turning the iPod over in her hand carefully like it was a precious jewl.

"I betted give this back to Yoshiki..." mumbled Ayumi, getting up from her favourite seat.

"On a first name basis are we?" commented Hinoe, snapping the book shut. She began to chant her mystical sealing charms, to make sure that the book did not come to the fate as the previous notebook.

"Maybe..." Ayumi replied, lacing her shoes hurriedly, hoping Yoshiki was in at this time. Her sister smiled to herself, sliding the feathery spirit book into its secret slot in the bookshelf. Ayumi was growing up so fast these days, and she was defiantly developing her already advanced sixth sense, she thought fondly to herself.

"I'm gonna go, now," Ayumi called from the near corridor, picking up her bag.

"Fine, but you better be home by five!" ordered Hinoe, glancing at the time on her ancient watch. It was quarter to two in the afternoon.

* * *

"Kishinuma," called his boss, collecting money from an eager customer, "Your shifts ov'r now. You can take that ol' electric one o' mine for two weeks from the back."

Yoshiki grinned, walking through to the end of the shop space and to the little store room at the back. He could instantly tell which the electric one was, since all the others were plain acoustics. Admirably, he stroked the base of the guitar, and plucked the rough strings carefully, as if he were plucking feathers from a bird.

"This is great!" exclaimed Yoshiki, carrying the fine instrument out of the store room. "I owe you one, sir." The owned chuckled, watching him from the checkout.

"Nah, you already wor' ov'r time!"

Yoshiki waved goodbye to the other workers and started walking briskly down the street, already thinking what songs he could play using this new instrument. He could play several of the songs from the book on this guitar, and hopefully, finish his new song he has been working on since he had returned from the heavenly host. Thinking about the heavenly host, he had some strange dreams recently, no, not the same terrible nightmares he had encountered before, but strange, almost realistic dreams about the child spirits. He was in deep thought, when he spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Squinting, he carried on walking to his block of flats, and noted the figure was walking in the same direction...Then it suddenly disappeared behind him. He shrugged his shoulders, not really knowing what to think. As he turned the corner, he thought he could her rapid footsteps behind him, gradually getting closer...louder...

"BOO!" shouted a female person, grabbing him by with shoulders.

"Oy!" he shouted, spinning round to see who it was. Oh...it was Ayumi, of course!

She was standing behind him, laughing her head off at his surprised reaction. Her hair was loose for once, and she was wearing one of her favourite hoodies, the orange one, and midnight blue skinny jeans. Her eyes were like always, clear and focused, and, was it just him or did she looked extremely pretty...?

"Yoshiki?" said Ayumi, amused, "What are you looking at?"

Yoshiki shook his head catching up with her.

"N..Nothing!"

She must think I'm a right pervert, thought Yoshiki, slightly embarrassed.

"You borrowed a new guitar," commented Ayumi observantly. "Is it acoustic?"

"No it's electric actually," said Yoshiki proudly, but trying not to boast. Ayumi sighed, looking

at her romantic interest. She had never really noticed his masculine features before, since she had previously thought he was a delquilent and frankly, a significant waste of her precious time. But now it was different. She noticed his strong jawline and muscular arms, and blushed. Why was she thinking about him this way? She had always told herself personality was more important than looks, but still, she couldn't deny he was good looking.

"Soo, since your walking this way, why not come over?" Yoshiki suggested, falling to to step with her. Ayumi nodded, pleased. Today was gonna be...great...


	8. Chapter 8 - Return them

**Back again. Don't worry, I TOTALLY ship Satoshi x Naomi, it's just at the moment Satoshis feeling... Strange. Enjoy, and leave a review!**

* * *

Ayumi filtered through the various books and music sheets, perched carefully on the edge of Yoshikis couch. She was trying to at least tidy some of the things in his tiny flat. It was getting worn with age, and Ayumi did wonder why he didn't buy a new one. Money wasn't the case, since she had noticed that several things in his flat were relatively new. A while ago, Ayumi would of thought that it would be rude to ask but now they were closer, she felt more confident.

"You got some new stuff," Ayumi commented, sliding her hand across the table. Yoshiki nodded, happy to see that she was noticing even small changes. That was one of the reasons why he liked the class representative

"But then why have you not gotten rid of this couch?" she inquired, curiosity getting the better of her as it did so often. Hinoe and her parents had lectured her more than once on not letting curiousity control her, especially when it came to dangerous places and spirits. As a child she had always got in trouble for being extremely..."nosey"

"Too many memories!" was the easy answer in his opinion. Goodness knows how many times he and Satoshi had sat on that couch, playing video games on his play station. He had sat there with his sister Miki, and chatted to her about countless things, that he had enjoyed. And also, the time Ayumi had the vision, and they both slept on the couch with their hands entwined. He couldn't help but smile at each fond memory, and that's why he had decided to keep it.

Although the new stuff aside, Ayumi still thought the flat needed a bit more...warm feel to it. Sure it was nice to live in but it didn't feel homey, to her, considering she lived in a house with much more of that feel to it. She glanced up at Yoshiki, who was stacking some more music books in the corner of the room, taking time to file them in his order of favourite. His muscles in his broad shoulders and back flexed as he leaned over, making Ayumi realise just how strong he was. In a lot of ways, she noticed, Yoshiki was quite the opposite to her previous crush, Satoshi. Satoshi had big, round chocolate brown eyes and cute cheeks that always had a slight tinge of peach pink on them, where as Yoshiki, and she had noticed often before, had high, slanted check bones, sharp grey-blue eyes, and was quite pale. She shook her head, trying to get the handsome images of Yoshiki out of her head.

"How much money have you got?" Ayumi asked, glancing out from the hall way, trying not to sound nosey.

"Well, I've been saving," Yoshiki replied uncertainly, wondering why Ayumi would possibly want to know this. "And my pay has almost tripled actually, thanks for me working night shifts and over time."

Ayumi grinned, fumbling in her bag for her purse. Yes she had it, and combined with some of Yoshikis savings...there would enough.

"What are you planning?" peering at her plotting face.

"Don't forget your wallet," she began striding out of his flat, "were going... SHOPPING!"

Shopping? What the hell was Ayumi planning? He didn't have long to think, Ayumi was dragging him out of the door by his hands. Quickly, he grabbed his leather wallet and the keys, locked the door and followed Ayumi, who was waiting impatiently outside the flat, tapping her foot on the solid oak floor boards.

* * *

The light was too bright for Satoshi. Damn it Yuka, why did you have to turn it on so early? Putting a hand on his eyes to shield the light, he slowly opened his tired eyes and peered through the small gaps between his fingers. Wait...this wasn't his room! His room was blue but this one had beige walls with strange objects everywhere. He spotted a large window with cotton blinds, and next to it a large white bookshelf filled with various bottles and boxes. His bed felt small and the bedding, which was usually soft and navy, were scratchy and snow shite. Where was he?

"Uhhhhhhg.." mumbled Satoshi, his eyes now used to the yellowish light.

"OH MY GOD YOUR AWAKE!" Cried a familiar female voice. Suddenly he felt arms around him and small sobs coming from the shocked person. He instantly knew who it was, and on impulse, pulled her closer. He could feel his steady heart best against her rapidly beating one, and felt warm and squishy inside.

"Naomi," began Satoshi "thanks, but what was that for?" Naomi quickly sat down blushing strawberry red, back next to Yuka who was watching enviously, her fists wrapped around a small glad bottle.

"Yuka found you unconscious in your room, and you were barely breathing!" Naomi exclaimed, a happy smile forming on her previously shocked face., "you've been out for over a week!"

Satoshi tried to remember what he had last done. What scared this was the fact he simply couldn't remember at all! Ugh what was wrong with him? First the spooky dreams, then the painful headaches and now, he seemed to have been hospitalised! Yuka rudely pushed Naomi away, wanting all of Satoshi's wandering attention. She handed him the sea blue scented beads proudly, telling him how special they were. Naomi sat back, slightly taken aback by Yukas rash gesture, but let it go. Yuka was his sister after all, so why did she feel so put out?

"Yuka, can you get mum and dad for me please?" requested Satoshi, now sitting up on the rickety hospital bed.

"Daddy's at work, but mummy is with the doctor outside. I'll get her now."'she skidded rapidly out of the room, eager to help her sick brother. Mother would be super happy to see Satoshi awake again, since she had been worried sick, Yuka thought.

"I'm sorry to have caused all this crazy chaos," Satoshi said, clearly quite embarrassed to have caused a stir.

"No, don't worry," reassured Naomi beaming, just as Satoshis mother walked through the door, looking very pleased with her son's unexpected recovery. Naomi watched from the edge of the room as Yuka and Satoshi's mother fussed over him, like he was some sort of doll. He wasn't really listening to them, he was still looking at Naomi' sweet brown eyes and pretty face. She was defiantly super beautiful...much more then Ayumi was or anyother girl he knew. Naomi caught his eye, and he nervously .ooked away, feeling a little hot inside. He loved Naomi, and he didn't think she'd ever return his feelings. Naomi was disappointed that Satoshi had quickly looked away. He obviously didn't feel the same way she did towards him. He would never like a girl like her with tom boyish hair and embarrassingly large features...no way.

"Mrs Mochida, I think I better go," Naomi finally said, grabbing her bag from the nearby wooden coat stand. Satoshis mother gave her a permissional nod, smiling at the ready girl.

"Give my regards to your mother, dear," she said, sitting down in the seat Naomi had sat on earlier. Naomi waved as she left the small hospital room, plastering on a fake smile as she shut the door. In reality, Satoshi wasn't glad she had come to visit, she thought, and she obviously been an inconvenience to him and his perfect family...

Satoshi smiled, looking up at his family. He loved them most in all the world, but really, he would much rather have Naomi by his. side...

He watched her figure walk by the window, her eyes fiercely fixed on the floor, and let his heart drop through the ground.

* * *

"Green? No too...abstract..maybe a lighter huge like...lilac? Or yellow?"

A while back Ayumi had dragged a confused Yoshiki all the way to town, to a large D.I.Y store on the edge of a busy road. She was in the paint isles, her eyes sparkling at the vast array of matte colours they had to offer on the shelves. Yoshiki rolled his eyes, exasperated. All girls were like this, obsessed with shopping, it was ridiculous. He still had no idea what Ayumi was doing, but had decided not to argue with her.

"Do you prefer 'flashy white' or 'brilliant beige'? Though 'Autumn red leaves' is super stylish too..."

"Ayumi," he muttered, pulling her swiftly away from the towering shelves "Why did we have to come here?"

Ayumi giggled, pulling several tins of paint from a row, shoving them into Yoshikis outstretched arms.

"I decided to make your flat more homey!" Ayumi explained, strolling up the next isle "we are going to start with colour..." Yoshiki sighed, cursing her under his breath, how much was this going to cost. But fair to her, the colours on the floors and walls were fairly basic, and maybe did need a bit of brightening up. She was in her element now, busily comparing different brands and shades, so he reluctantly decided to let her do what she wanted. At the end of their short trip, Ayumi had chosen three different types of paint, and had also picked out several brushes. She wasn't much of a D.I.Y expert, but didn't imagine Yoshiki to be that good either. However she was very creative, so it wouldn't be hard to create a better atmosphere to her. Yoshikis eyes widened at the bill, but didn't mention it to Ayumi who was happily skipping beside him, eyes taking in all surrounding her. He loved it when she was elated, since she made such better company then if she was anxious or stressed, as she often would. That was his only goal at the moment, to make the girl of his dreams happy, every single day, even for just one moment. And so far, it was going to plan.

"Were gonna have such fun!" giggled Ayumi, swaying her plastic bag from side to side.

"Hmph," grunted Yoshiki "and my wallet is crying," Ayumi laughed at his snide comment, jingling her full purse around.

"Don't worry I'll pay you back...if you take me out for dinner tonight!"

Yoshiki let out a frustrated sigh. She was so demanding sometimes.

"fine," he finally agreed, taking her free hand, "But let's call In at yours first. You can collect some stuff and preferably old clothes if your going to help me paint."

Ayumi nodded, crossing to the other side of the road, which want into the other part if town, closer to Ayumis house. She better tell Hinoe where she was going, and hopefully her parents would think she was sleeping over at a friends house...that wasn't exactly a lie. She was about to start a conversation with Yoshiki, but noticed that his eyes were latched on to hers, and they were still holding hands. They'd never made it official, but it was kind of obvious that they both liked each other now, more as friends. She was just going to ask him, but he asked first.

"So.." he stammered, a slight flood of pink flushing his pale cheeks, "Are we like a...couple now?"

Ayumi found her self blushing too, even though she had just been thinking about the same thing.

"I guess..." Ayumi replied, meeting his gaze, blushing even harder. Unexpectedly, Yoshiki stared laughing out loud as if she'd told him the most hilarious joke. "Wha..Why are you laughing?!"

Yoshiki placed a hand on his forehead, like he did when he was perplexed, but he was far from that.

"It's just so weird! At the start of this year you barely knew me. You then hated me, and you'd forever give me long lectures about what an awful person I was. And now... Your saying you want to be with me? It's crazy!"

Ayumi surprised herself by laughing too. She remembered the moment they had met in the corridor after she had saved him from being excluded from the school.

"Haha, it's funny how people change." Ayumi replied lightly, nearing her house. Yoshiki gave her a sideways look, then laughed again.

"Past Ayumi would hate you now!" They both laughed together as Ayumi rang the doorbell of the house, since she had not bought her keys with her. Thankfully it was Hinoe at the door and not her parents.

"Hi Ayumi,"'she said, disappearing into the hallway, "Don't bother coming In. I've got your stuff ready for you." Confused Ayumi stayed outside, still holding hands with a slightly puzzled Yoshiki.

"Thanks," Ayumi said, as Hinoe bundled a bag at Ayumi, beaming broadly.

"I've told dad your staying at a friends house tonight. Be back at 12!" And with that she sut the door abruptly. Ayumi was stunned! How on earth did Hinoe know she was planning to stay over at Yoshikis tonight?


	9. Chapter 9 - Same feeling

**A/N: if you have not seen/played book of shadows, you might not get the ending of this chapter. I don't what to spoil the game so I'm just saying you might not understand. Thanks again! Bye... (SORRY FOR THE SHORT CHAPTER, I AM WORKING ON CHILD SPIRITS NEXT ONE WILL BE LONGER PROMISE)**

* * *

Yoshiki heard the crunch of newspaper below his feet as he reached up the wall with his paintbrush. Ayumi had chosen a pale beige for the main room, and was setting him to work straight away with no excuses. Meanwhile she had started with a pale cream with a slight hue of green in his bedroom, which went unexpectedly well with its random theme. They chatted with each other casually from the different rooms, sometimes having to raise their voices in the progress. It didn't take that long for Ayumi to finish Yoshiks bedroom, since it was a lot smaller then the main room, So she decided to be outgoing and help Yoshiki with the main room.

"Is that all you've done?" commented Ayumi snidely, picking up another paintbrush.

"It's harder then it looks!" snapped Yoshiki back, trying to reach the top parts of the wall. He was really tall, but not tall enough it seemed. He didn't own a step ladder, so he was lost on ideas on what to do.

"I have an idea," said Ayumi, following his line of vision "give me a piggy back and I'll reach it." Yoshiki sighed, scratching his head. There wasn't any other ideas, so he decided to go along with her. It wouldn't be that hard, he had carried her tons of times before, and today wouldn't be different, he just needed to keep his balance. Ayumi carefully climbed on top of the couch, poising herself carefully on the edge, ready to jump off. Yoshiki stood directly underneath her, arms stretched out behind him. Carefully, she clambered onto his strong back, clutching his shoulders, surprised at how comfortable she was sat on his back. Laughing, Yoshiki walked towards the wall, trying to keep the balance and trying not to fall over.

"Okay, it's just up there!" he shouted, pushing upwards towards the top of the wall.

"M'kay I think I got it!" Ayumi reached up, paintbrush just reaching the certain spot, and dragged it down. She was just about to reach up again, when she lost her balance, and Yoshiki started to wobble on the news papered floor.

"Ack!" She cried the paint brush falling from her grasp instantly, and she started to fall towards the ground.

"AYUMI!" shouted Yoshiki, holding on to the falling girl. He was clutching her arms, using all his strength he had left to pull her back up. Despite his strength, he had grown tired from holding Ayumi up, and eventually his legs gave away, and they both fell to the floor. They both landed awkwardly, on top of eachother, and they both started blushing deeply. Yoshiki was the first to get up, brushing fleck of paint off of his jeans, before offering his hand to Ayumi, who was rubbing her bruised knee, still on the floor.

"Thanks," she said gratefully, taking his outstretched hand, "I'm so clumsy!" Yoshiki laughed, pulling her up, making her smile and laugh with him. She looked up at the wall, and was it just her, or did she actually manage to paint the higher up area!

"Good job," He said, wiping his brow "I think we'll finish this up tomorrow!"

Ayumi nodded, taking the paint covered paint brushes and plonking them carelessly in the sink.

"So," Ayumi said, smiling at Yoshiki warmly with shining eyes, "You said you'd take me out?"

* * *

It wasn't exactly a fancy restraunt, but Ayumi couldn't care less. She was sitting opposite Yoshiki, and his company was all that mattered to her. They were sitting at a two person table right by the window, and the serene view of the beach was a warm and welcoming sight. She hadn't dressed up at all, and hoped Yoshiki didn't mind. Yoshiki couldn't care less what his date was wearing, he knew she was beautiful and suited anything, plus beauty didn't really matter to him in a relationship, it was just something that added more appeal. They had ordered, and were now in the middle of a light conversation over ice cold drinks, when Yoshikis phone went off with a bleep. He glanced at his phone, opening up the text window.

From: Satoshi -To:Me

Hey mate, don't know how but ended up in hospital.

Come drop in some time!

"What does it say?" Asked Ayumi, noticing Yoshikis perplexed face. He silently handed the cellphone to Ayumi, whose clear glass eyes scanned the screen. One time in her life she would of jumped up immediately and rushed to visit Satoshi, and would stay by his side all day and night just to see if that impressed him. But now it was different, of course she was worried about her friend, but she would never do that anymore.

"I wonder what he's done," chuckled Yoshiki, taking the cell phone back and putting it in his jean pocket. "He's most likely fallen over or something!"

"Sounds about right!" agreed Ayumi, eyes drifting to meet Yoshikis gaze. He had just been admiring her again, since he was well and truly hooked on her now, and savoured every second he spent with her. Suddenly Ayumi found herself also lost in his dreamy trance, feeling sparks in between them. They were like that for along time, peacefully silent; to her it was perfect. She only let herself wonder once what was going on in Satoshis mind once...

* * *

He was alone in the tiny room again, staring into the dull darkness. His family had left several hours ago, promising to visit in the morning. Naomi had left early afternoon, and not surprisingly, didn't return. Even his best mate Yoshiki hadn't paid him a visit. He was most likely wrapped up busy doing something with his one girlfriend, Ayumi, and didn't have enough time to hang out with him anymore. No one wanted to see him, and for the first time in forever, he felt like his friends were drifting away from him, either busy with their own lives, or not finding him interesting anymore. Frankly he felt like an outcast, a piece of shit. Forgotten, as if he never existed anymore. To be honest, he felt like that most days when he was alone now. He'd felt it ever since the day out at the pier, when Ayumi was growing closer to Yoshiki, And Naomi was bonding with Ayumi. Was this the same feeling Yoshiki had when he was kicked out of his family home? Proberbly. Was this the same feeling all his fallen friends in the Heavenly host have, now they're non existent in his world? It was the same feeling; it's just he'd never thought he would ever feel it. He wondered what Yoshiki was doing now. He was envious that he had a girlfriend, however didn't care that it was Ayumi. If it would of been Naomi on the other hand...Satoshi sighed. He shouldn't be thinking things like this! What was wrong with him anyway? There were so many questions that he'd never be able to answer, so why did he ask? His head was so filled with thoughts, that he hadn't noticed a nurse and Doctor turn the light on and enter his little room. Immedietly he sat up, greeting them with a fake smile. This shocked him, since smiles came quite naturally to him, and they were always genuine. Not today though...

"Hi. I'm Nurse Riku, and this is Junior Doctor Mi..." began the nurse, beaming brightly.

"Call me Tsu!" butted in the young, enthusiastic doctor, also smiling at Satoshi. "anyway, I'd like to ask you a few questions! Is that okay?"

Satoshi nodded, as the nurse left the room to tend to another patient. This place seemed to be very quiet, even for a hospital.

"So let me introduce myself...Im a junior doctor working here...but I'm not that good at working with other people."

"Oh?" questioned Satoshi, thinking that actually he was quite a nice person. He had orange hair, with two strands covering his pale purple eyes. At more or less the same height, The doctor oddly reminded him of himself.

"Well...I'd much rather be a vet, but I'm doing this for the experience!"'

"So what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Well, the lead doctor of this case told me to ask you these questions and fill out the sheet...but, I want to ask you something else!"

Satoshi flinched slightly, but the doctors smiling face reassuringly made him relax.

"Go ahead."

"Your mother said you went missing for a period of around two days last month, am I right?" he inquired, reading from the case notes. "When she stopped people in the street, they seemed to have no idea who you were. But when you returned, they remembered again. Where did you go Satoshi?"

Satoshi had no idea why Tsu wanted to now this, it was hardly medical, and he want sure whether to tell him about it. He had lied to his parents about it, and they had scolded him and Yuka terribly afterwards, but it saved him the hassle of explaining it. Could he trust a random person who he'd just met? Maybe he knew about the heavenly host! That would help a lot more...but first he needed to test him.

"Ever heard of Heavenly host?" Satoshi asked, Tsu looking at him intently.

"Hmmm...wasn't that the school that was originally built on the grounds of Kisiragi?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

Tsu smiled, putting a hand at the back of his head.

"I was a student there not long ago! Ah the memories!"

"Okay," continued Satoshi, thinking deeply, "Does the 'Sachiko ever after charm' sound familiar to you?"

Tsu shook his head, curious. What was he talking about?

"Does the name Sachiko Shinizaki mean anything to you?"

Tsu shook his ginger head, doubtfully.

"What about...Yoshie Shinozaki?"

Suddenly Tsu was strangely silent. A flash of anger flashed violet in his pale eyes, and he let out a coarse, startled cry, as if someone were strangling him, and have Satoshi a shocked stare.

"Y..Y..Yoshie Shinozaki?" he repeated, shaking slightly. Satoshi nodded, confused at Tsu's sudden outburst. Once again, Tsu made the same cry, them whimpered helplessly, standing up, inhumanly straight.

"Ooougggh...Yu...Argh..gshgsshs...NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And he fled from the room, his eyes wide in fear, hands gripped on his head.

**And if you haven't go it by now, all will be revealed in not the next, but the chapter after. Mwhaha!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Moonlight

**A/N: Hello guys! I'm wondering whether to make the chapters longer, I really don't know how much to write for each ken, I just stop whenever I feel it...um needs to.**

**ON ANOTHER NOTE: BLOOD DRIVE WAS RELEASED TODAY! The trailer makes it look amazing, and someone has already uploads the first to parts of chapter 00 but unfortunately it's in Japanese so I can't read it, but the new models for the sprites look great, and Yoshiki seems to have new character designs which is AWESOME! Do you want a English version of blood drive to come out? Leave an opinion and review below! Bye!**

* * *

Their meal had been pleasant enough, and Ayumi offered to pay since she did go a bit crazy with the paint and brushes. Yoshiki had no objections so she went ahead, leaving a small tip. Yoshiki glanced through the window outside. It was quite dark now, and the silvery moon cast a bright glow on the gentle waves below it, making it look quite appealing indeed. They left the restraunt hand in hand, staring at the dappled sea close to them. It was a fairly humid night, and they both had the same thing in mind.

"Ill race ya!" Challenged Yoshiki, running down the steps onto the soft sands of the near by beach. Ayumi laughed, elated, and carelessly kicked of her sandals, dumping them next to Yoshikis black trainers, which were abandoned next to the stairs. Yoshiki was already approaching the waves, but Ayumi decided to quickly roll her leggings up in order for her not to get wet. She crashed into the icy water, a freezing shock running through her legs as her warm body reacted to the sudden change in temperature. Teeth chattering, she thrashed her way through the waves and joined Yoshiki, who was already knees deep in the water. He pointed at the sky, picking out the pin-pricked stars dotting the midnight blue sky. Distracted, Ayumi let her guard down, and gave Yoshiki the perfect opportunity to splash her, which in deed he did.

"HEY!" she shouted, playfully splashing him back, accidentally hitting his joyful face, soaking his bleach blonde hair. He looked kind of like a dog that had just gone swimming, and she half expected him to thrash his hair about it that like manner, but instead he simply splashed her back. He got his revenge, now her hair was soaking, and her hair ties had actually come undone. Her blue-black hair flew everywhere in the sea breeze, making it difficult to see and annoyed her greatly. Yoshiki took her hand; they were standing directly under the mystical moon.

"Hinoe says, when ever you enter the sea, you should make a wish," Ayumi recalled, clutching his wet hand happily. "Let's make one!"

"Why bother?" he questioned, pushing her damp hair out of her sapphire eyes, "When mine has already come true?"

Ayumi gazed at his adoring eyes as he wrapped himself around her, gently tilting her chin. Suddenly, she found her arms around his sturdy neck, and her face now only inches away from his.

"This is what I want," he whispered, Ayumi feeling his warm breath against her flushed cheeks.

"This is what I want too," mumbled Ayumi, standing on her tiptoes, still holding him tightly. A thousand fireworks went off in her body as their lips met, electric sparks whizzing through her mouth and face. Yoshiki pulled her even closer, the fire in his eyes fading as he closed them, passion burning through his heart. He couldn't believe this was happening, but sure enough Ayumi was returning his affection with just as much genuine passion as he had for her, and it felt perfect. The waves still lapped against their legs, however, they were too wrapped up in the moment to really care. The moon cast their joint silhouette onto the waves, fading away into the cool water...

"Ayumi..." he mumbled, pulling away from her, quite breathless, "I love you."

Ayumi looked up at him, stroking his slated jawline, then slowly tracing his warm features just like he had done to her earlier in the month.

"Yoshiki..." Ayumi said, pulling away from him. "I'm getting really wet. Can we get out of the sea now?"

Yoshiki was taken a back by his sudden request. Stupid him, Ayumi must of thought he was over doing it a bit, no wonder she wanted to get out.

"Uh..Sure!" he replied taking her damp hand awkwardly, wishing he had done it sooner.

Ayumi smiled warmly to herself. She loved their stupid, awkward but cute relationship more then anything in the world. She didn't want to lose him now...

* * *

"You don't have to sleep on the couch!" protested Ayumi, as Yoshiki placed a duvet and pillow on it, still blushing from the events on the beach. "I'll sleep here."

Yoshiki squeezed his girlfriends arm, comfortingly, letting her get her way once again.

"Okay, but if you have anymore of those horrific dreams or visions, come straight to me." Ayumi nodded, grabbing her stuffed bag from the side of the room, wondering what on earth Hinoe had packed for her. Yoshiki was about to leave, to go to his room, when he felt a light hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for today," Ayumi, whispered, genuinely grateful for his company.

"No problem," Yoshiki grinned, wondering whether he should kiss her again. He decided not to push it too far, and disappeared into his newly painted room.

Meanwhile, Ayumi was sat on the couch, emptying the contents of her bag. Various things fell out, like clothes and money, but Ayumi knew Hinoe had packed it for a reason. Much to her surprise, the spirits notebook was nestled right at the bottom of the bag, with a neon pink post it note stuck to the cover. Curious, Ayumi quickly put everything back into the bag, before reading the note with darting eyes. As she read, she could almost hear Hinoes voice, but that was just her imagination, surely.

_Hi sis - turn to page 17 please, there's something interesting I'd like you to read._

_I hope you have a good time tonight, but don't get ahead of yourself!_

_*\\(^o^)/ Love Hinoe*\\(^o^)/ x_

Get ahead of herself? Hinoe was soo suggestive! She'd never dream if doing that...well...humph. Her sister knew her really well, better than anyone, even Yoshiki! She would often talk about her worries to her, and Hinoe would always come up with multiple solutions, often working out all Ayumis problems. She was the only one she had spoken to about the heavenly host events, since she was the only one who believed her. Remarkably, Hinoe seemed to remember all of her classmates who had died there, but that wasn't surprising because like Ayumi, she was gifted with the power of sensing spirits. Careful not to damage the pages, she flicked through the white pages of the book, stopping at page 17. It was filled with her sisters neatly written notes, and there were various numbers and names highlighted in red.

'_Note one: I seem to sense the same presence every time I enter the hospital to visit Paizu, a sick friend, from that assistant doctor that runs around ...for Dr Katma. There's something about time that makes he unsettled...I think he knows about...close to a victim...remember, but still...says the name, shin..."_

She couldn't make sense of the jumbled notes, and was worn out from the busy day. Thinking this could wait, Ayumi put the book down, and tucked herself under the covers, before switching the lamp of which was next to her. Her head started to fill with ideas in what the notes could mean, however, this didn't stop the tired girl from falling into a light slumberI.

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It was dark, and Ayumi woke up with a start. She hadn't had another ghostly dream but something strange and eerie was keeping her awake. Suddenly, she felt cold, and realised that the thin duvet must have off the couch whilst she had been sleeping, since it was now lying on the floor, covering the spirit book. Tired, she got up, her bare feet cold on the ofloor boards. She was wearing a neutral vest and warm kimono, but she was shivering in the darkness and didn't want to be alone anymore. That left her only one option. Careful not to make a noise, Ayumi pushed open Yoshikis bedroom door, sliding through the slight gap as efficiently as a snake. She spotted Yoshiki fast asleep, sprawled all over the bed. Sighing, she kicked the door to, and got up quietly onto his bed. She smiled, wrapping herself up in the cotton covers, her slight body close to his. Although asleep, Yoshiki seemed to notice her presence, and pulled her closer to him, one arm around her waist. Ayumi loved it when he did that, even if he was asleep, it made her feel secure and safe, so she snuggled closer to him, curling up into his chest. She knew that she'd never be able to do anything like this with Satoshi, even when she had still had that stupid crush on him. Even if her and Yoshiki were just friends, she also knew he still would let her sleep by him if it made her feel comfortable. She hadn't seen him for who he really was, all those months ago, and Yoshiki had taught he'd never ever to judge someone as soon as you meet them. Because your never know what your going to miss out on...

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**Review if you love Yoshiki x Ayumi!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Change

**A/N: For those of you longing for some Satoshi x Naomi, don't worry it will come at the right time. I'm just waiting for the right moment, since i don't really want to rush into it without any real reason. Im just trying to make the story realistic if you know what i mean. But there will be! PROMISE!**

**P.S: Im a Beta Reader now, for Corpse party in particular, but also for a few others. Please check out my Beta profile!**

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Yoshiki awoke, feeling surprisingly regenerised by his good nights sleep. He barely slept more than 5 hours a night, since he still had the awful dreams, though he didn't like to admit it. He'd usually wake up, cold and still tired, and moaned as the morning wore on making each day seem like a chore. That had been before Ayumi had excepted his feelings for her...now it was different. Yoshiki had had a fair few changes in his life, good and bad, but this was possibly the best. He smiled looking down at her fair sleeping face; she really was beautiful even when she slept. Wait a sec, he though, realizing his arms were around her, she had slept on the couch, hadn't she? Why had she come to him? There were more than a few possibilities why she had come, one being that she had had another vision or nightmare. But surely if she had, she would of woken him up, however, he didn't remember waking up at all last night, so she most likely just wanted his company. In the first time in his life, the bleach blonde boy actually felt like he was wanted.

Suddenly, he felt her petite frame stir beside him, and sure enough she was starting to waken. The warm heat of the rising sun beat down on her forehead, making her squirm uncomfortably. Seeing this, Yoshiki gingerly pulled her chin towards his, thus moving her eyes out of the direct sunlight. Ugh, he really need new blinds...

"Yoshiki..?" came her faint voice, her bright eyes slowly opening, adjusting to the bright light around. Her focusing gaze met his, and her heart stared to beat what seemed like a thousand times faster, and it showed by the red flush rushing into her face. Still with a hand near her face, he pushed the stray parts of hair away from her face, smiling lovingly at her. Ayumi sat up abruptly, turning away momentarily away so he wouldn't see her shy face. Yoshiki frowned, concerned.

"You don't have to hide anything from me, ya know," assured Yoshiki comfortingly, "Whats on your mind?"

Ayumi laughed, turning back to him, trying her upmost not to make him worry.

"Nothing...its..just..Never mind!" She hugged him impulsively, breathing in his masculine scent like it was an exotic flower. Slightly taken aback, he returned her embrace, pretending he wasn't worried, but he knew something was up. Deciding not to mention it, he broke away, his mind drifting to Satoshi.

"Damn it, we should visit Satoshi _shouldn't_ we?" he suggested, reaching for his cell phone. Ayumi nodded. Although she no longer had a crush on the boy, she still had a soft spot for him and looked up to him as a friend. She didn't think Satoshi actually ever found out about that phase, however, he did. Yoshiki had complained about it many times when they talked about that stuff, and Satoshi comforted him by telling him how he'd never consider Ayumi as a potential girlfriend. Yoshiki had not mentioned it to Ayumi, since he was worried it would break her heart, even though she used to break his a little every time she mentioned Satoshi's name.

"I hope he isn't too mad at us!"

-To: Satoshi-From: Me

Hey mate, can i come to visit u 10?

Hang in there lol

Satoshi was naturally quite quick to reply, he had nothing better to to.

-To: Me-From:Satoshi

Yh u better.

Yoshiki was quite surprised at the short length of Satoshi's text. He usually wrote at least two line, but he was sick. He was probably feeling down, so he wasn't acting like is cheerful self. Hopefully later when he visited, him and Ayumi could put a smile on his face.

The blinds were drawn open, sending a shaft of golden light over the small hospital room. Satoshi looked up, hoping wistfully that some one had come to visit him, but much to his disappointment, it was just the quiet nurse from yesterday, shuffling around in his room.

Sighing, he turned back to face the wall, studying the floral wallpaper pasted on what seemed like recently. Suddenly, he felt an urge to find out what was actually wrong with him, since no one had actually told him.

"Excuse me!" called Satoshi to the nurse who was about to leave, "Is Dr Tsu here?"

The nurse looked at him pitifully from the door, her arms full of case notes.

"Im afraid Dr Mikuni has been assigned to another patient. I can get him if you really want..."

"Yes please," nodded Satoshi, leaning back in his chair, waiting as the nurse left the room in search of Tsu. Suddenly, the nurse was back again, but she didn't have anyone in tow. She looked slightly curious.

"There is a young woman outside, calling herself Shinozaki. Would you like to see her?"

Shinozaki? Out of all people, she was the person he least expected to come and visit, since didn't Yoshiki mention that she was staying over his? But he didn't want to be anymore lonely, so he gave his permission and the busy nurse popped back to the waiting room to collect her. However, the person who entered the room was definitely not Ayumi! For starters, she was much taller in stance, with a larger chest and hips, conforming that she must be older then the class rep. Her mousey brown hair was long, and fell right down to her waist ending in a red hair tie, similar to Ayumi's. She sat beside his bed, clutching a notebook and strangely symbolic pen in her pale hands.

"Shinozaki...?" he said, now really confused. The woman let out a slight chuckle at the mention of her sure name.

"That's right; _Hinoe _Shinozaki. Ayumi is my younger sister!"

Yes, thinking about it, Ayumi often talked about her wonderful occult sister, and often boasted how she had an even higher sense of the spirits then she had. Personally, Satoshi didn't find that stuff very interesting, but he was curiously wondering what on earth she was visiting for.

"Soo...what did you want exactly?" he asked.

"Oh, i just wanted to mention that i've actually sensed a high spirit count around you recently!"

Satoshi looked up at her as if she was crazy.

"Um..i'm not sure what that means..."

"_Right_. I just want to warn you of something."

"Uh, go ahead..?"

"Be wary of the spirits. Heavenly host still exists, and you, Ayumi and the others may be living the life right now, but its not all it seems. The walls of the closed spaces are deteriorating rapidly, and people close to every victims are going through a tough faze. Remembering someone that never existed is tough. It shows especially in YOU. And I bet you've met someone already experiencing this."

Satoshi wasn't overly taken aback by Hinoe's wisdom, since what she was saying. for once made perfect sense. And that one person was...

"Dr Mikuni is here to see you, Satoshi!" called the nurse, leaving hurriedly. Hinoe stood up, a strange look in her glassy eyes.

"Be strong." she said, before leaving Satoshi's bedside. Satoshi was so wrapped up in his own thoughts, that he didn't notice the solemn whisper Hinoe let out whilst passing the younger doctor.

"You remember Yui clearly now. Stay strong."

He flinched, shocked that she knew Yui's name. Hinoe chuckled, before waving to Satoshi and leaving the room. Tsu recovered quickly, before cautiously approaching Satoshi.

"What did you call me for?" he muttered, a hurt look in his amethyst purple eyes. Remembering Yui had made him feel as if he were crazy, since it seemed to him that he was making up a life, but it felt so real! It was such a change.. He could find no evidence of her existence, apart from a few old photos of a young school girl with her face blacked out. There was even one of him and her, but sadly he had no memory of it whatsoever. It had taken a huge toll on his mind, and though good with medicine, it made him feel metal or insane inside.

"Now that Hinoe has told me the truth,_ I_ want you to tell me everything you remember about Yui."

Easier said then done, Tsu thought with a sigh, sitting down on the chair previously occupied by Hinoe.

"Her name was Yui. She was 17, and we were in school together."

"Thats a good start. Only Ms Yui was 23, not 17."

"Oh. I seem to remember her that way."

"Do you remember her favorite animal?"

"Ummm...Huh! I got it, it was cats right?"

"Yes!" encouraged Satoshi, impressed. Even though Tsu was remembering small details, each step was closer to proving that his dead friends had actually existed! And with all his friends seemingly drifting away from him, this was the one thing he wanted to focus on. After he had asked Tsu a few more questions, getting mixed responses, he went one to ask one final one.

"So, Tsu, whats actually wrong with me?"

Tsu looked slightly embarrassed, as if he didn't actually know. But sure enough, he knew something.

"Well...we're not sure. You passed out with no scientifically explainable reasons, but they blame it mostly on stress."

Satoshi nodded, accepting their theory. It wasn't exactly like these past few weeks had been very easy, in fact he may of looked relaxed, but that was all a mask. Suddenly his cell phone went off. It was the text Yoshiki had sent earlier. Frustrated after reading it, he tapped out the reply. Oh ho, he had _ALOT_ to say to him...

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_**!Please leave a review!**_


	12. Chapter 12 - Understand

**Hi guys! I'm reaaaallllllyyyyy sorry about the short chapter yesterday Σ（ﾟдﾟlll）**

**Truthfully, I'm actually on a train as I write/post this, travelling to my aunts in Holland! I'm going to be here for 5 days and I'll be spending a lot of time with my family, so I might not write so often. There will hopefully be at least two more chapters coming out whilst I'm here. As soon I was off the train I was like "NEED WIFI" and I managed to get it for a few minutes, but it was enough to read through the 16 new nofications I had got before I left (⌒-⌒; ).****They really make me happy! Anyway, enough of me, onto the next chapter!**

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"You took your time!" commented Satoshi, quite harshly as Yoshiki was ushered into his hospital room by the forever going back and forth nurse.

"Hey man, nice to see you too!" Yoshiki replied, noticing how Satoshi had suddenly adopted his sarcastic streak. "Ayumi, come on in!"

Ayumi walked into the room, sitting down next to Yoshiki, smiling. Why the hell did Shinozaki tag along?

"Why is she here?" he muttered, glaring at Yoshiki.

"I can bring her if I want to ya know," retorted Yoshiki, defensively. "Anyway, what's wrong with you?"

"Aw...I only fricking stopped breathing and passed out!"

Ayumi noticed the angry tone in his strained voice, and was quite concerned.

"Mochida-kun, there's no need to be so blunt! We were really quite worried about you when we got that text las-"

"Suuuuure. And that's why you came today instead of yesterday. At least Naomi was kind enough to come visit me yesterday instead of my best mate!"

"Ugh Satoshi!" Shouted Yoshiki, his short temper rising, "The world doesn't just revolve around you, ya know!"

"Where were you then?"

"I was out..."

"With Shinozaki?" he asked, fully aware that Ayumi was still listening.

"Yes, actually!"

"Oh I see. All you care about is her now!"

"NOOOO!" screamed Ayumi, leaping out of her seat, "Yoshiki doesn't just care about me! He cares for all his friends, especially you! Your his best mate! You've always been there for him! What's gotten into you, the Satoshi I knew would never be so cold against his own friend!" Satoshi was about to retaliate, but his thoughts were once again conflicted. Should he tell them about Hinoes visit, and that he knew what was going on? Or did he keep quiet, and not get them involved. He had no idea what he should do, but they were both defiantly angry now, and even a little upset. Satoshi knew exactly why he was lashing out, being cruel, however, he didn't know whether they would believe me.

"You don't understand..." Satoshi told them, the anger in his voice turning a bit sadder.

Unexpectedly, Yoshiki nodded, his had placed naturally on his head like an accessory.

"Your right," he said, standing up and pulling up Ayumi as he did, "I don't understand. And if your not going to explain why your being so cold towards us, I see no more point in why we should be here."

Ayumi nodded, defending Yoshikis words. There was no way she was going to waste her time with a boy who was lashing out on her. She didn't have enough time to waste.

"Collapse!" he shouted quickly, catching Ayumis attention.

"Excuse me!?"

"Collapsing, spirits escaping...remembering!" he shouted, random words spilling out of his gaping mouth.

"What the hell? I didn't think you had gotten mental problems Sato-?"

"Please stay!" he begged, struggling to get out of his bed "It's really important! Hinoe told me! Please don't go please!"

Yoshiki let out an exasperated sigh, turning around to his distraught friend. Ayumi suddenly tugged his hand, pulling him back to Satoshi with pleading eyes. Satoshi, of all people, had mentioned her sister. What did he have to do with Hinoe?

"What did Hinoe say to you?" she said slowly staring at Satoshi, her eyes still cold.

"It's a lot to explain, but basically..."

And so Satoshi explained Hinoe's earlier encounter, with multiple tones and gestures to help convince them. Although Ayumi took great interest, Yoshiki was barely listening, he was just watching his pretty girlfriend with admiration, going over in her head how he was so lucky to have her. Unfortunately, he didn't listen to their convasation, and if he had, who knows how he would of reacted.

"I think it would be a good idea if you came over when you are discharged, you know, just so we can talk to Hinoe about it in more detail."

Satoshi nodded, her words seemed to make sense. But he wasn't sure how Yoshiki would react to this. Another guy going over his girlfriends house...In his position, he would be suspicious of something, but Yoshiki wasn't like that was he? Also there was Naomi, what if she didn't like him spending time with the class rep.

"So," came Ayumis voice, cutting through his muddled thoughts, "Next Tuesday after school, meet me by the gates!" He glanced at Yoshiki who was clearly not listening. Yes Tuesday was a good time. Yoshiki had work, and Yuka was going over Satsukis house, so everyone would end up happy. But still, he couldn't help but have a bad feeling about the whole situation.

"Uh...yeah sure."

"Great!" smiled Ayumi, getting out of her seat again, her fingers still entwined around Yoshiki, "Well I hope you get better soon. C'mon Yosh, let's go!"

Yoshiki snapped back to attention, quickly catching up to where she stood at the door with an impatient hand on her hip.

"Yoshiki...see you in school man."

"Hehe...No hard feelings!" And with that, the couple left the classroom quickly, and Satosgi could still hear there happy chatterings amongst themselves. He wished he could have such a cute relationship like Yoshiki and Ayumi, but he wanted it with one particular person. In reality, he'd never actually kissed a girl! He'd hold Yoshiki this awhile back, when they were at his flat playing video games on his old couch.

"Are you kidding me mate?" Yoshiki had commented when Satoshi had told him.

"No! Have you?" He had replied in his defence, changing the focus on his friend.

"Yeah, loads," he mumbled, concentrating on the racing game "But for most of them I was drunk."

That was a typical thing of Yoshiki, always going off the rails. Was that what he had to be like to get Naomi? Or should he just stay the way he was?

"Too many questions!" he murmured to himself, his hands over his ears in frustration.

"Satoshi, buddy!" came Tsu's voice from the doorway, "Your free to go!" Ugh, it was about time he thought, climbing out of bed. It wasn't long before he was changed and ready to go, when Tsu stopped him in the corridor.

"Hey. Do you have a cellphone?"

"Yep sure! Want by number?"

"Yeah that would be great," replied Tsu gratefully, pulling out his own cell phone. Satoshi was filling out the contact information, but paused on 'Full name'.

"Uh, Tsukasa Mikuni," he said quickly, seeing his sudden pause. Satoshis eyes widened in sudden realisation. Tsukasa...? That name...he was sure he had heard it before. He dug deep in his memory, pulling out a certain memory from not long ago. He had gone to visit Ms Yui when she was sick, and in her sleepy daze, she had mistaken him for a Tsukasa, and man in front of him was most likely who she was talking about. Tsukasa Mikuni.

"Thanks!" he said, before walking off into the direction of the office, his hands in his pockets. This morning had been very eventful, and it was time to make the afternoon the same.

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Naomi stared up at the annoyingly dull shade of brown on the ceiling, wishing she was back home. Sundays were the worst day for her, because at 10 o clock sharp, was the weekly trip to the...ugh, therapist. It made her stomach uneasy just thinking about it, and she felt even worse when she was actually there. Being concealed in a tiny room with a freaky stranger wasn't exactly fun, for Naomi anyway. The only reason why she had to go her, was her mother. After retiring from the Heavenly host, her mother was convinced that her poor daughter was having hallucinations, I mean, she was crying for dead friends that had never existed! Even though Naomi and her only parent were close, her mother still couldn't believe everything her distressed daughter had said when she had stumbled home, a couple of days after she had gone missing. She had called the therapist first thing, despite Naomi still going to school afterwards, and she had been going to that hellish place ever since. They asked the same old questions every time, such as, how long have you been having these visions, and how do you feel? You know what, she had no idea how she felt, and found that it was stupid that they of all people wanted to know.

"What was her name, again?" asked the stern therapist, squinting at her with pitiful eyes.

"Seiko Shinohara. She was in my class, 2-9!"

The therapist sighed at her, shaking her ugly grey curls.

"FORGODSAKE, EVEN ASK SATOSHI! SEIKO DID EXSIST!"

Suddenly Naomi started sobbing uncontrollable tears like it was the end of the world and the freaked out therapist left the room quickly. Naomi didnt understand what was happening to her, it was such a strange phemonenon. She then began to question herself, maybe after all she was going mad! Or was she depressed? All those people she had witnessed losing their minds in Heavenly Host, was she going to turn up like them? Her mother burst into the room, a heavvily concerned look in her startled eyes. She held her daughter close, trying to console her, but in vain.

"What's WRONG with me!" She cried, addressing the therapist.

"You could be slightly depressed, but...Ms Nakashima id advise not coming her for awhile, let your daughter calm down."

Naomis mother started at the therapist with new born hatred.

"Your as right as hell that I'm never coming back! Your supposed to help her, not make her cry!"

And with that she stormed out of the room, her daughter trailing behind her and drove straight home. She had just been trying to help Naomi, but this strategy was clearly going no where. As soon as they returned home, she put Naomi on her bed, tears still in her eyes.

"Darling, I'm so, so, sorry. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Naomi nodded. She needed someone close to come over and comfort her, besides her mother. Ayumi was out of the question, she herself had excitedly told her that she was staying over Yoshikis. That also crossed out Yoshiki, for the same reason, and Naomi didn't really find him that comforting. That left one person, and he was first choice.

"Satoshi...Mum I want Satoshi!"

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** *:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:* What's your favourite Copse Party Shipping? *:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:* **


	13. Chapter 13 - Surrounding

**Hi again guys! Just to let you know (before you start asking questions) this chapter is a bit of a filler chapter between the last one and the next one. But chapters 14+15 will be full of drama, romance and stuff, MWHAHAHAA?! But for now enjoy this fluffy filler and look out for the new chapters VERY SOON...And I'm sorry if this is a super sort one! I'm gonna make the next one 2,000 words plus promise! I love you guys! Xx**

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Naomi threw her shaky arms around Satoshi, covering his chest in her salty tears. Satoshi had turned up at her house before her mother could actually contact him, and that had made Naomi if something, feel a little better. Was he just passing by her house, or was Satoshi actually planning to drop by? He hadn't said anything, he had just comfortingly held her in his capable arms once he had seen her distraught face up close. He had no idea what had put her in such a bad state, but her mother had let him in with absolutely no hesitation, so she must of known Naomi was in a bad way, surely.  
"Naomi, there's no need to cry, okay?" Satoshi assured her in a calming tone. Naomi shook her head violently, of course there was a need to cry, she had must been practically told her was crazy!  
"I don't know what to do!" she moaned, bitting her raw lip, "I thought I'd never say this, but, I'm starting to think that maybe..Seiko...SEIKO NEV-"  
"Naomi!" Yelled Satoshi, grabbing her shoulders fiercely "Don't you ever question our friends existence, Hinoe hold me some very important stuff about the spirits!"  
"Hinoe? Sorry, who?"  
"Shinozakis sister, the medium who knows all about paranormal stuff!"  
"Oh yeah, she did mention she had an as equally as talented with spirits older sister."  
"She's really nice, and she did help me a lot back there. To think she actually visited before my best mate!"  
"What, are you kidding me?"  
"Nope. We did have argument about it, but he left saying that there were no hard feelings, so I guess it's okay."  
Suddenly a memory jolted in Naomi's mind. Those three feelings would stick in her mind for quite possibly the rest of her life whether Seiko existed or not.  
"No hard feelings huh? That's what Seiko said to me..."  
"See! Seiko did exist, she was a real person, she was your best friend!" Satoshi said determinedly, looking into Naomi's bright eyes, which were still quite cloudy with tears.  
"Yeah your right..." Admitted Naomi. Thank goodness Satoshi was here; if he wasn't, she would be surely branded insane, and wallowed away in her sorrow. She realised at this moment exactly, just how much she needed him, more than anything right now. What if she lost him? Someone like Ayumi could quite possibly make her move, even though she insisted her heart was all for Yoshiki.  
"Listen, Naomi," said Satoshi, his voice changing to a softer tone. "I've got something I really want to tell you."  
Was it just her, or was the temperature in the room was suddenly staggeringly high? She couldn't help but feel her heart flutter, but why? He wasn't going to confess he loved her, he definitely didn't...Or did he? She went through all the moments in her mind where he might of shown this, and much to her shock she came up with more then a few. Like when he bought her crepes, and guarded her selflessly in the heavenly host...They weren't exactly friend zone things, were they?  
"Uh..." She replied, blushing slightly "Go ahead, you know you can confide in me!"  
Satoshi took a big breath, reassuring himself that this was the moment, the time when he could finally say how he felt about the girl.  
"Naomi...I.." he began, his line of vision meeting hers "I really like you!"  
Naomi blushed again, a warm glow spreading around her elated body, making her sudden depressed state ease off. How could she be so blind? Satoshi did love her!  
"I um..' She stammered, struggling to get the words out. Satoshi really hoped he wasn't about to be rejected now...  
"I kinda...I really like you too!"  
"Ya-OOOF!"  
Naomi had hugged him again, but this time not out of longing for comfort, but from affection. Satoshi found himself naturally hugging her back, itching to tell Yoshiki he had finally accomplished his long term goal! All the exciting events that could happen in the future whizzed by; soon they'd be going on double dates with Yoshiki and Ayumi, holding hands in public...Yeah, it was going to be perfect. This sudden change in events had been enough to make him forget about the lurking problem, and made him focus on how he really loved life, and didn't want to waste it anymore thinking pointless, negative thoughts. It was all thanks to one person.  
"I love you Naomi," he whispered as his face was close to hers as they embraced. And he really did mean it. Naomi did return his affections of course, however she felt like a piece of her was still missing, and she didn't know where on earth it was. She had never expected today the day that she would do this, but it had! Well, thought Naomi, still in Satoshi's arms, you only live once I suppose, and she needed to live each moment as it came, no feeling depressed because that was just going go be a complete waste of her precious time. Plus, Seiko, Mayu and the others who had died wouldn't want her to feel like this! At that moment, she swore to herself she'd treasure every last second she had left.

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"Good morning, it's the medium Shinozaki here, how can I help?" said Hinoe on the phone to a client, quickly scribbling in her customer notebook. She had been working all morning, mostly just doing admin but she had also had a few clients visit as well. It was weekend, so her parents were still at home but they rarely disturbed her when she worked, and she appreciated it. Most weekends Ayumi would be out with her friends or studying, so it was ideal for Hinoe to work in. Plus it was when more of her clients could visit.  
"A different tension in the air? Yes I feel it just in your tone of voice, please explain!"  
She was leant back In her plush seat by her dark wood desk, and she couldn't feel more relaxed. As she listened to her client, she wondered when Ayumi could come home.  
Ayumi raised her hand reluctantly to the door, not sure whether to knock or not. After she and Yoshiki left the hospital, he had walked her all the way home, and it had been very enjoyable. She reflected on it as she listened outside Hinoes room. He had casually offered to walk her home and they had almost automatically held hands all the way. Yoshiki had left her by her porch gate, but not before kissing her again. He simply couldn't resist the feel of his lips against his girlfriends, and Ayumi liked the feeling too. It made her insides go squishy inside and her feel warm and fluffy. Not literally, but you must know the feeling.  
She was now about to talk to her sister about the planned meet up with Satoshi, but didn't know that she was at work. Her parents had disproved of Hinoes life choices, but Hinoe had been adamant to do what she believed in, and stuck to her favourite saying, do more of what makes you happy. Ayumi also deeply followed that statement, which is why she may have seemed a bit extreme sometimes.  
"I'm getting a lot of clients with the same problem recently. Would you like to make an appointment?"  
Ayumi decided to enter the room without knocking, her sister generally didn't mind. As she stepped into the room, the heavy smell of lavender filled her nostrils like it always did when she was around her sister. It was a calming smell, Hinoe had said many times, and it relaxed the spirits, like caramel did. Hinoe did not react at all, so Ayumi went on to the other side of the room whilst she waited for the call to end. She was quite used to this.  
"Yes, see you then. Bye!"  
Hinoe put the phone down with a sigh, and walked over to Ayumi who was now staring out of the large French window at the back of the room.  
"Your back! How was yesterday, Ayumi?"  
"It was...amazing," she replied, blushing as she remembered the events with Yoshiki on the beach. "I really enjoyed myself!"  
"Heehee. Enjoy young love while it lasts!"  
"Uh," said Ayumi, wanting to change the subject, "I visited Satoshi this morning, and he told me what you said to him."  
"That's right! It goes with the jumbled notes I wrote, doesn't it? Do you have the book with you?"  
"Yep." Ayumi replied, fishing it out of her bag carefully, her fingers brushing against the tawny feathers. "I thought maybe we could talk about it in more detail to him."  
"Oh Ayumi-chan, your not planning to two time Kishinuma-kun are you?"  
"Of course not!" shouted Ayumi crossing her arms on her chest "I just think it could help him out and understand the current situation! He's just a friend!"  
Hinoe chuckled, sitting down on her comfy seat again, beckoning Ayumi to the one next to her.  
"So...how far did you get?" Hinoe wanted to know, being slightly nosey.  
"What do you mean? Ugh, why do you have to ask questions like that!"  
Hinoe laughed again, looking fondly down at Ayumis perplexed face. In fact, she actually had a hand held to her head, which want like her when she was annoyed or confused. Ayumi noticed it herself, and secretly knew the reason.  
"Im just curious!"  
"Pft, never mind. Anyway, what spirits do you sense around me today, Onii-Chan?"  
"Ah..." said Hinoe, deep in thought. Yes there were many around Ayumi today, especially now she knew about the heavenly host issue. There was still so much she didn't know, but in due time, she will learn.

Or, not...

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**_please leave a review! And check out my Beta reader profile!_**


	14. Chapter 14 - Frustration

**A/N: Heres another chapter as promised! Please go and check out my other stories, it would mean so much to me! Hopefully I will upload again tomorrow, and I will also upload another episode of _Corpse Party: Ends Meet_ too**!

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The next few days at school went by uneventfully for the four Kisaragi students. They did their lessons, ate lunch together and the usual stuff they did before they had left for Heavenly Host. It actually felt quite normal, and there was newly found peace between them, but that was all about to change. It was Tuesday, and the four of them left the school grounds as per usual, making chatter amongst themselves. Satoshi and Naomi, now the new declared couple, were shyly holding hands, which Yoshiki and Ayumi thought was really quite cute. Yoshiki always knew that they'd get together sometime, and it was now good because they could go anywhere without feeling awkward when they might have go pair up. It was nearing the end of the day, and the four happy students met at the gate like they usually did.

"Damn, I wish I didn't have work today!" muttered Yoshiki, "Then I could hang out with you guys!"

"I've got a dentist appointment straight after school, so I can't do anything either." explained Naomi with a slight sigh. More appointments, but at least it wasn't therapist this time.

"Don't worry, you guys go on ahead!" said Satoshi with a grin, edging closer to Ayumi. The other two nodded and ran on ahead, turning the sharp corner that followed the pavement. They left Ayumi and Satoshi to 'chat' which really worked, because now Satoshi could go over Ayumis house unnoticed and it wouldn't cause a fuss with Yoshiki. As thy walked, Satoshi wondered what his female friends house looked like. He imagined it to be filled with mystic colours and strange objects, with a creepy door with a large spooky doorknocker. But when they eventually arrived outside it, it looked like a perfectly normal family household, making Satoshi feel slightly relieved. At least was was going to be a bit more natural to home rather than a spirit filled one! Ayumi turned the key in the copper lock and let him in, calling Hinoe from her room upstairs. Satoshi stood in the middle of the hallway, unsure of what to really do whilst he waited. But Hinoe was swift down the steep stairs, and in her arms was the spirit notebook and a thin, marbled pen of green and purple. Mysterious colours, he thought.

"Welcome Mochida, it's good to see your well!" she greeted him calmly, smiling warmly.

"Yes! Thank you for letting us meet today in your home." he replied, his charismatic flair shining through. Ayumi did acknowledge how sociable he was, and was secretly pleased that someone with a more sarcastic attitude like her boyfriend wasn't here instead of him.

"Come through this way, we have a lot to talk about in our session today!"

Hinoe lead her sister and Satoshi through the hall way and into a large, crimson themed room. There were large velvet curtains draped on the windows with plush chairs and cushions to match. It seemed quite regal. Ayumi and her sister sat opposite to him, and Hinoe opened the spirit book, flicking back to the scribbled notes Ayumi had struggled to read last week.

"Okay, let's cut straight to the point!" began Ayumi, letting her sister carry on explaining.  
"Since Sachiko and the child spirits have been appeased, there is no one to hold up the space of the Heavenly Host. Therefore, it is collapsing, and the spirits are starting to escape. They are going to join the dead in their rightful place of rest."  
"Then how is that a problem?" challenged Satoshi slightly arrogantly  
"The problem is, that in this world, they do not exist, so people who were close to them are starting to remember snippets of memories they shared, like Tsukasa Mikuni has been experiencing. However, in their minds, these people do not exist, so they will slowly brand themselves as mental. This way, the spirits can never fully escape, and in due time the spirits will create another space the same way Sachiko did."  
"Oh.." Said Satoshi, taking in the information slowly, digesting everything that had been said.

"So, Onii-Chan, what is the solution to the situation?" inquired Ayumi, in a fully understanding tone.  
"That's the problem. There is no long term resolution, but we can to little things to help. I will put out flyers to the people who have the certain symptoms, and help them with the remembering, like you did with Tsukasa, and you can help spread the word and if you can possibly, find people affected by this and help them."  
"That sounds good," agreed Satoshi "I'll do all I can to help!"  
Ayumi promptly nodded and left the room to get some drinks, whilst Hinoe wrote in the notebook and Satoshi started spacing out. He had surprised himself on how much he was enjoying himself, but felt sorry for Yoshiki who was slaving his ass of at work!

_Or was he?_

In fact Yoshiki was not doing his usual Tuesday shift at all. Instead she decided that his boss wouldn't mind much if he slacked of one, providing how much time he worked already. Now he was on the way to Ayumi's house to see if she wanted to go out and maybe even stay over his again, as a surprise date. He felt like he hadn't seen her at all recently, she'd been so wrapped up in the spirit business of hers. But now he felt like taking her out, and had even been considering enough to buy a bunch of Ayumis favourite flowers, white roses, for her on his way there. He hoped that she would like them, and looked forward to the evening. She would have no reason to say no, would she?

Ayumi walked in, balancing a tray of drinks in her hand, noticing that the front door was open, she would close it later. Satoshi had requested Coke, and her and her sister had opted for their usual citrus fruit juice. Satoshi and Hinoe thanked the girl gratefully as she handed them their various drinks, and she sat back down beside her sister. The topic had changed to a more upbeat topic, and Satoshi got up to help with the explanation of a funny event that happened earlier like he often did.  
"And then, I'm not even kidding, he came up to me and was like this!"  
"Oh my gosh!" chuckled Hinoe at Satoshis entertaining encounter. "You have to watch out you know!"  
They were all having a great time, until one, clumsy action really changed the mood drastically. Satoshi leaned to grab his drink, but accidentally knocked it over in the process. In the split second that this was in, both him and Ayumi jumped up to catch it, since it was about to fall onto the precious feathered spirit book, and no one wanted that damaged! They both hit their heads on each other, forcing them to fly back and land in an awkward position. By awkward, I mean Ayumi landed right on top of Satoshi, one hand on the floor, one hand on his chest. They both blushed bright red, neither of them clearly enjoying the embarrassment.  
"What...WHAT THE HELL ARE DOING?" yelled a thunderous voice from the hallway. Yoshiki had walked in at the worst possible moment, right when they had gone to catch the drink. He dropped the flowers in sudden shock, stunned at the suspicious scene before him. Satoshi had to admit to himself, it looked very suggestive, so instantly sprang away from Ayumi, who was now standing up, bright red.  
"Uh, it wasn't what it looked like, Yosh, I promise!" cried Ayumi, running up to him,

thinking what horrific visions he must be experiencing.  
"Yeah!" shouted Satoshi, backing Ayumi up. Yoshiki shook his head in angry disbelief, glaring at Satoshi with fierce, fiery eyes. This was really the last straw with Satoshi now, he had been cold before, but trying to hit on his girlfriend! That was betrayal.  
"How could you?" his line of vision now shifting to Ayumi "I thought you-"  
"It wasn't like that! Satoshi knocked over the cup, and we just happened to both try to catch it! That's all!"  
"Sure...and now your both blushing! You clearly enjoyed it!"  
"Please Yosh!" begged Ayumi with pleading eyes, "Please forgive us, it was just an accident!" Usually when she did this, Yoshiki couldn't stay mad at her for long, but now he just felt furious.  
"God damn it!" he shouted in frustration "Satoshi, I thought you liked Naomi! You know how much I care for my girlfriend!"  
"If you liked her so much, then why didn't you find out why she was walking with me today?"  
"So you admit it?"  
"NO! I'm just saying-"  
"What is there left to say..." Yoshiki stared at Ayumi, the anger in his sharp eyes turning to hurt, at staring at her accusingly. Ayumi felt awful, and tried to hug him, but she was carelessly pushed aside by him. He'd never experienced heartbreak before, and was reacting very badly to it. The fact was he simply couldn't take it anymore.  
"Is this what you really want? Him?" He asked Ayumi quietly, helping her up from the floor.  
"I know you used to like him, but I honestly though I'd managed to change that." He faced the floor, not knowing what to say, Satoshi and Hinoe exchanging awkward glances in the corridor. Ayumi clutched his hands, starting to sob silently.  
"Please, Yoshiki. I don't love anyone but you, and I realised it the second we spoke in the park by the fountain at school! I never loved Satoshi, it's was just a silly school girl crush!"  
"Then why is he here?" Yoshiki wanted to know, turning away with a grim look on his perplexed face.  
"We were discussing the spirits is further detail." Interrupted Hinoe in a soothing voice. "It must of looked very suggestive, Kishinuma-kun, but if you really love my sister, you would know she would never do anything like that to you."

The four stood in silence, trying to piece together some logically thoughts.  
"Look I'm gonna go. This was a bad idea to arrange this without Yoshiki's consent." Satoshi announced, before leaving the house quickly, not wanting to make any more fuss.  
"Kishinuma, I suggest you go home and think things over before saying anything you may regret later." suggested Hinoe softly.  
"Ayumi..." He stammered, turning to the girl. "I will always love you. But loving me is just an option for you, clearly. See you tomorrow."

Ayumi couldn't look at anyone, and rushed to her room as quick as she could go. She slammed the door with her frustration, and started pummelling her pillow like it was a punch bag. Why did Yoshiki have to take it the wrong way? He was way too protective over her sometimes. Thinking about it, he was probably confused and very hurt, so she decided not to do anything about it. She wondered if she should avoid him tomorrow...but they hadn't exactly broken up, had they? Right now, she really needed someone to talk to.

"Naomi, hi. Can I come over?

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**QOTC: Who is your favourite non Kisaragi corpse party character?**

**Mine is Kensuke Kurozaki because he is so funny especially in the extra chapters.**

**PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ**


	15. Chapter 15 - Most likely

**A/N: I can't believe I'm kinda close to 50 follows! I 3 you guys, so heres another chapter!**

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Yoshiki paced down the corridor, frustrated from the events that had occurred two days. He had never imagined Ayumi would do such a thing, he literally walked in on them, on top of each other, practically about to kiss. And with Ayumi's sister in the back ground as well! There was no way that that could of been an accident in a million years. He still couldn't get his head round the fact of was Satoshi; Yoshiki thought he confessed to Naomi earlier. But people had their secret, which Yoshiki had a fair few, so it wouldn't be impossible for something like that to happen. He hadn't been to school since Tuesday, and hadn't texted back to Ayumi's messages that she had sent in worry. His head was too messed up to think about school, and seeing Satoshi was the last thing he wanted to do. Although they used to be best mates, Yoshiki could already feel him drifting away from him. Satoshi had even posted a picture online of him hanging out with a bunch of other boys in the class, and that hit him hard. Maybe him with Ayumi was just Satoshi hinting that he no longer cared for Yoshiki, as a friend anyway, and this was the end? Yoshiki hadn't regretted his reaction to the scene, since he thought surely everyone else would react the same way he did, wouldn't they? But then, he reversed it, and imagined what Satoshi would do if he saw him and Naomi like that. He would be understanding, and it would breeze over for him. Everything seemed to be so easy for Satoshi.

Satoshi didn't feel that way though. He had only spent time in with his other friends just to see if Yoshiki seemed to care, but he hadn't commented at all on the post. Did that mean his and Yoshiki's friendship was through, or were they still savable? Though an optimist, he couldn't help doubting it. Yoshiki hadn't turned up to school the previous day, and it didn't seem like he was returning the next day when Satoshi spotted that Ayumi was alone once more, with out the usual carefree blonde by her side.

"Hi Mochida-kun." greeted Ayumi, meeting him by the traffic lights.

"Hello," he replied, not really wanting to make conversation with the slight girl. However she seemed to get it, and quietly continued walking with out saying anything. She knew she and Yoshiki's relationship wasn't the only one put under strain by the accident, and that Satoshi seemed very upset by it, so it was best to say nothing. After the incident, she had gone straight over Naomi's, sobbing and seeking her feminine comfort. Naomi felt extremely sorry for the girl and was mentally cursing Satoshi for being so clumsy and causing the whole misunderstanding. Ayumi had rushed to explain it to her, and she had listened intently to her recount. Naomi had always been a listener, and often used to hear Seiko blabbing on about random things with at least, a little interest. However, she knew when her friends were upset, and that was why most of them came to her for advice. The two turned the corner, stopping by at Naomi's small home right next to school. Satoshi rapped on the door knocker, and waited patiently next to Ayumi outside the door.

"Hiya guys!" Naomi called, her cheeks rosy and a large smile on her face. She linked arms with both of them, determined to cheer them up since they were both in quite frankly either sad or bad moods. Satoshi felt his gaze meet hers, and his heart rate sped up, reminding him just how pretty Naomi was when she smiled. If Yoshiki was here now, he could just see how much Satoshi loved Naomi, and everything would go right back to normal.

"You know what, i think you guys need to patch this thing up with Kishinuma," Naomi advised, seriously. "Its only going to make matters worse for all of you."

"Yeah well its not that easy," muttered Satoshi.

"He hasn't responded to _any _of my texts and i've sent at least thirty."

"He just needs to cool of. It couldn't of been easy walking in on you too like that!"

"I guess..."

"But I love him and i'm scared that he'll never look at me the same way!"

"And i bet he hates me now!"

"Gosh guys!" shouted Naomi over their sorrowful speaking "Its not that disastrous you know! Its just a stupid misunderstanding that you just have to explain to him. There, done!"

"But what if he still hates us?" pointed out Ayumi.

"He doesn't hate you," Naomi told them knowingly, "However someone needs to go and tell him what happened!"

Naomi noticed two pairs of eyes staring in the direction of her. Ayumi and Satoshi clearly wanted her to do their work for them.

"What?!" she said, slightly annoyed "I wasn't there was I? One of_ you_ have to do it,"

Ayumi and Satoshi exchanged worried glances. Eventually Satoshi sighed, looked back up at the too girls.

"Fine, i'll do it. Don't blame me if he kicks off."

Naomi grinned approvingly at Satoshi, walking through the large iron school gates. She was about to say something to Ayumi, when a tall girl with orange pig tails approached her.

"Excuse me, class rep, i wanted to ask about the planned display in the art room?"

Ayumi threw the two an apologetic look as she was dragged away by the inquisitive girl. Being class representative did come with lots of responsibility, and that was something Ayumi loved. She rushed off in the direction of the art department, whilst Satoshi shook his head, laughing in the direction of her.

"Still the same old Ayumi!" he said lightly, actually coming into a better mood. Was it because he was finally alone with Naomi by his side? He didn't notice that Naomi was actually frowning at his comment. Sure, Ayumi hadn't changed that much in personality, but there was no denying that. Satoshi on the other hand, had changed a lot in her opinion. She couldn't really explain it, but the was something different about him. Most likely loss of confidence, she contemplated to herself. What about her, had she changed? She had no idea...

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"Thanks Akemi!" called Ayumi has the ginger haired girl ran out of sight. She really did need to talk to her art teacher about updating the old displays, since they were old and in her opinion, not very good. Secretly she disliked Akemi's style, and hoped she could mainly put up her pieces of art. She was lost in thought trying to get some inspiration for the new board, when the sports teacher walked by her.

"Shinozaki, shouldn't you be in class?" he commented, making her scurry away. She sincerly hated that ugly man, but he was right, she was meant to be in history class right now, one of her favorite and best subjects. Hoping she wasn't too late, she grabbed her books from her locker and hurried up the stairs, bursting into her classroom. Luckily she was just in time for the register, but some eyebrows were raised when she did arrive. There were two nasty girls in particular, whispering and pointing at her as she was the last to sit in her seat. She blushed out of embaressment, and took one quick glance to suss out who those girls were. Suddenly, she realised it was the two rude girls that had ripped up her spirit book earlier that month, and instantly felt anger rise up in her. She could already tell they were going to make it hard for her, especially since Yoshiki wasn't with her today so they weren't going to be scared of hurting her. Damn it, she thought to herelf, i better just ignore them. Grabbing her bright blue textbook, she turned to the page written on the chalk board, 45. Scanning the title, she discovered that this was a new topic, one she hadn't studied before; family trees. This wasn't really a topic, but it was a handy skill when disifering royal bloodlines and looking for heirs and stuff. Ayumi liked anything that helped her revise at home. Like everyone else, she copied out the explanation, an example and a key into her book, with her cursive handwriting. She always hated her handwriting, and used to long for Mayu's graceful flicks and fancy letters, or Morishige's neat, printed letters. The class had been working for the majority of the lesson when the teacher stood up.

"Everyone get your diaries out please, we have homework to complete for next lesson." ordered the teacher, turning to right it on the board. A series of moans and groans echoed across the room making Ayumi wonder why they bothered going to school. What was the point if they didn't enjoy it? For most of the students, it seemed their parents most likely forced them to get a good education.

"You are going to make your own family tree, using the example you should of copied out from the text book and your _own_ family. That is all class, you may go to your next lesson."

Ayumi's head wad filling with excitiment as she left the room. Her own family tree? She knew she had a lot of relations, but she had met very little of them. She'd have to look at her fathers blood line, Shinozaki, a bit more which wouldn't be too difficult if she had the right resources. But there was one question that was still stuck in her mind. Naomi had mentioned before that Sachiko and Yoshie both had the surenames, Shinozaki, which was obviously the same as hers. But there were many Shinozaki's in Japan, so she could barely be related to them could she? She shook of the thought, not thinking it was very important and left the classroom. Three more lessons and then she could go home and study, and Satoshi would be going to Yoshiki's. She really hoped nothing bad would happen, and Yoshiki would be more understanding. However, Ayumi knew Yoshiki well now, and if Satoshi got him angry, he would most likely lash out...

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**Hopefully i can upload again soon!**

**_Please leave a review!_**** \\( 'v' )/**


	16. Chapter 16 - Right

**Hi guys! Hope** **your enjoying my story so far! Im soo close to 50 follows now! Yaay! **

**P.s, could you do me a big favour? I've got a realtively new story called Corpse Party: Ends Meet, which i may have mentioned before, but i really enjoy writing it. I usually update it inbetween bittersweet, so if you like this fanfic, I suggest you check it out.**

**Thanks for all the support! \\(^o^)/**

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Satoshi stood outside, pressing his warm ears against the cool glass of Yoshiki's door. He could hear the buzzing from the television inside, which ensured that he was in and wasn't still at work. Satoshi actually doubted Yoshiki had really gone to work these past few days, since he hadn't turned up at school at all. Glancing at the time on his pale grey smart phone, he knocked sharply at the door, hoping it would get Yoshiki's attention. After a few moments of waiting, Satoshi presumed he didn't want visitors, so decided to let himself in using Yoshiki's hidden spare key. It was hidden in a small box in the number plaque beside the doorframe, accessible by flicking the switch at the bottom of it. Often when he came round, Yoshiki went out to the corner shop, or occasionally even to an emergency shift, and trusted Satoshi with the spare key in case of an emergency. Quickly pushing on the switch, Satoshi managed to open the small box, and the small silver key fell out into his open palms. Turning it in the lock, he walked through the door. Yoshiki was sat on the couch as always, eating a packet of crisps and presumably playing video games. Of course he had noticed Satoshi, but chose to ignore him, hoping that he would go away and not talk to him. However, Satoshi was determined to fix things and put the misunderstanding behind them and Ayumi. Eventually Yoshiki addressed him, in a slightly irritated tone.

"What d'ya wants?"

Satoshi flinched at his harsh voice. Quite frankly, he needed to be sensitive and quick with his explanation if Yoshiki was to believe him.

"I just wanted to let you know what really happened, before you jumped to that stupid conclusion."

Yoshiki didn't look particularly interested, but didn't object to him talking. After all, he didn't know much about the incident, only that he had walked in on his best mate and girlfriend, practically moments away from kissing.

"All I was doing was talking to Hinoe about the situation in Heavenly Host. Ayumi wasn't even part of it, she-"

"What situation in Heavenly Host?" Yoshiki interrupted.

"Wait, you don't know?" queried Satoshi, thinking that Ayumi would have definitely told him.

"No…" he replied, feeling hurt that Ayumi had chosen to tell Satoshi instead of him, her boyfriend.

"Anyway, now that there's no Sachiko, and the spirits have been appeased, and no one is holding up the space," explained Satoshi, recalling most of Hinoe's wise words. "So now the spirits are gradually letting their memories into our world, and people who were close to them but didn't go with them are now recalling memories with them, making them feel crazy like they've invented them up."

"Isn't that a good thing? That means Heavenly Host will disappear, and the spirits can rest in peace!"

"There's more to it than that." Satoshi sighed, shaking his head "Hinoe didn't really explain it in much detail, but I think there has to be some sort of new Sachiko."

"That's stupid! Why not let the spirits escape? Easy, done."

"They can't escape ever! People out here are going to go crazy, since their just experiencing their memories! The only way to stop it is to take the memories back and create a new Heavenly Host, I think. Then the people will have their minds saved!"

"How do you come up with these theories?" pouted Yoshiki, still annoyed that he hadn't known sooner. That was probably what Ayumi and Satoshi were talking about when he had spaced out in the hospital! He really needed to learn to listen more.

"I don't want to talk about_ this_ anymore. What were you doing when I walked in on you and Ayumi?" put in Yoshiki, briskly changing the subject. Satoshi accepted this change, knowing he couldn't avert from this sensitive subject much longer.

"I dropped my drink. We both went to catch it, and just happened to fall on the floor like that. Hinoe caught the drink after all."

Yoshiki mulled over his statement. It was true that Satoshi could be terribly clumsy at times, but was it really that easy to land in that particular position? It wasn't.

"How come you were both bright red, and your faces were right next to each others?" Yoshiki asked, a slightly colder air to his voice, remembering that moment.

"Oh," Satoshi blushed with obvious embarrassment "It was just _really_ awkward. Plus I already told you, we just happened to land that way."

Yoshiki stared at his friend, trying to decide whether to trust him or not. Since his parents had disowned him, he had had quite a few trust issues, but he would usually confide in Satoshi with out worry that he'd spread it around. He wasn't exactly the gossip type. Satoshi was clumsy, and it was possible that it was merely an accident like he had so adamantly said so, however, a small, stubborn part of him still thought he could of done it one purpose.

"Yoshiki!" Satoshi called, a determined looked fixed upon his face "I know it's hard to trust me, but this is Ayumi were talking about. You love her don't you? And she really, really loves you too! And_ I_ love Naomi, so it wasn't intentional. Please try and reason with me, this is all a big misunderstanding!"

Yoshiki sighed deeply. Maybe he had overreacted a bit, but he was just being protective of Ayumi. Well, thinking about Ayumi, he hadn't been very nice recently, she had sent him several texts and calls, and he had responded to next to none of them. What if Ayumi was going off him? If she was, he felt there was no point in living anymore, Ayumi was practically now his whole world since he had no one else, but was he about to lose her? Satoshi was right, and he needed to make it up with Ayumi before it was too late. His mind was so conflicted, and he had no idea what to say. He was like a crab scuttling between two options...

"Satoshi, I guess i can forgive you. But this isn't the first time recently that we've fallen out you know."

"I know," Satoshi admitted, a tinge of regret in his voice. "I think we're all still stressing out still about... well, you know."

"Yeah. Im still having those creepy visions, and Ayumi..." his voice trailed off at the mention of his girlfriends name. He hit his fist against the wall in frustration, wishing he wasn't so reckless and impulsive.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, mate!" urged Satoshi, patting his friend on the back. "But you should talk to her."

Yoshiki nodded, grateful for his advice. He didn't realise how much he had missed his best friends company, and was secretly glad they seemed to be on good terms again. They walked back towards the front door, chatting just like the good old days. Satoshi put his hands on Yoshiki' shoulders steadily just before he left.

"Do something to wow here," he whispered, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively with a smirk. "It will work, trust me!" Yoshiki broke from his grip with a tut, knowing exactly what he meant. He wasn't sure if they had a strong enough relationship, but accepted Satoshi's jokey pep talk nonetheless.

"Good luck!" cheered Satoshi, leaving the flat, feeling much better then he did before they had talked.

"I think i'll need it..."

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Ayumi shut the door of her room, breezing through to the back where her desk was placed. Quickly turing on her laptop, she flopped on her desk chair, bringing out her history book and opening it up on the page she had worked on earlier in class. Before she asked her sister or parents, she wanted to do a little research herself, maybe just for fun, but it might still help her anyway. The search bar was up, and her agile fingers tapped on the jet black keys as she typed in 'Shinozaki'. Within seconds, a load of results popped up on her screen, making her wonder which to choose. There was stuff like, 'The Shinozaki Fortune Tellers Co." and "Shinozaki Curiousity Shop'' and other various spirit related buisnesses. They were among old articles posted by figures such as Kou Kibiki about the kidnapping of the four children, Yuki, Tokiko, Ryou and Sachiko, which Ayumi scrolled down past almost instantly to avoid reliving the hell she had gone through. But one particular line caught her eyes. It read 'The Shinozaki estate and other paranormal spaces' with a small description underneath it like all the other links. Curious, she clicked on it without thinking, and quickly scanned through the introduction, thirsty for information.

"_Welcome to .jp, where we give you all the info on paranormal spaces in japan. Some have to do with black magic and the witches, and some have entire different origins. Some you can only acsess by charm, and some are exclusive to the gifted. Only read on if you have a high sense of the spirits, because otherwise you can not enter most of these spaces. Also you may have to be gifted or in a certain blood line as well. We accept no responsibility for injury, death or possesion, so enter these places at own risk. Thank you for reading this."_

What kind of website was this? What on earth was the 'Shinozaki estate' She was desperate to find out. Ayumi clicked on the link for the 'Shinozaki Estate', and started reading through the well typed text. It described an old house with a eeire glow around it, it's previous owners no one else but Yoshie and Sachiko. It was known for having hordes of paranormal items, but almost everyone who had gone never returned. Except Ayumi knew one person who had. Naho had mentioned the Shinozaki Estate in her notebook,and had most likely been there for herself. What had she found there, she wondered, was it something that had made her go to Heavenly Host? She needed to know, so badly...But last time she had gotten curious...No, she better just stick to her original plan of researching her family tree. Ayumi was about to click off the website, when something caught her eye.

'_...as well as the gifted Shinozaki bloodline family tree, enclosed in a scroll inside the house..."_

Maybe it wouldn't be too hard to get there, since she was gifted with the spirits. And plus, if she could find it, she would of done the whole prodject independantly! Yes, maybe it was a good idea in the end...

She was about to research more when Hinoe called from downstairs.

"Ayumi, Yoshiki's at the door again!"

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	17. Chapter 17 - Usually

**A/N: Are you guys still enjoying my story? (\'o'/) I'm aiming for 30 chapters...**

**Please check out Corpse Party: Ends meet if you haven't already: ** s/10564876/1/Corpse-party-Ends-meet****

* * *

"He wants to apologise!" Hinoe called from downstairs, hoping that she'd at least show her face. Hinoe had witnessed the incident from all of their eyes, so understood why Yoshiki lashed out, but also that he was misunderstanding things. Maybe it was her fault, but Ayumi would never take her big sister for the blame. In Ayumi's opininon, it had been nobodies fault, just a silly little incident.

"That's so unlike him!" muttered Ayumi, slamming the door as she left the room. Yoshiki would usually never swallow his pride for anyone, however, he had changed when he was around her. He had really opened up when with ayumi, since he found such comfort in her ability to listen to anyone, At that moment, she wished that he would become the careless mask, and just walk away like he maybe would of done a few months ago. Ayumi breathed in deeply, before hurriedly running down the stairs, not wanting to cause any awkwardness between him and her sister for too long. Yoshiki was standing at the door, his hands in his pockets, plain whistling. Ayumi knew it was a way of him just making him more confident, so she didn't comment on it like she maybe usually would.

"I'll give you two some space…" mumbled Hinoe, quickly disappearing upstairs inot her room, out of sight. Ayumi felt bad for making Hinoe feel that way, but it was probably for the best anyway, just in case something uncomfortable happened.

Yoshiki and Ayumi's eyes met, making the whole situation a whole lot worse. They usually looked at each other like this in sensitive or romantic moments, but now it didn't feel very special to either of them anymore. They stood idlely in silence, until Yoshiki managed to break it.

"Look, Satoshi explained it to me," he stammered, not sure whether she knew "And I understand now, and im sorry for reacting like that. It was so stupid of me to say that stuff, and i really hope you can forgive me for being such an awful friend and, uh, boyfriend."

Ayumi smiled, glad that he now understood and was mentally praising Satoshi in her mind for being able to convince him of the truth. Yoshiki wasn't always the easiest to win over... He returned it, holding out his hand.

"Are we good again, Shinozaki?" he asked, joining hands with her quietly.

"Shinozaki?" she flared up "Don't be ridiculous, you can still call me Ayumi, god's sake!"

"Uh, I'm sorry….?" Replied Yoshiki, only to find Ayumi had thrown her arms around him and was now hugging him tightly around his waist. Her forehead was pressed against his, and for the first time in days they felt like their hearts were connected once more. He pulled her closer, never wanting to be apart from her, and at that moment he realised he wanted to spend his whole life with the slight girl, and nothing like this would never happen again. Hopefully. She tilted her chin towards his, her hands clutching the collar of his white shirt. Secretly, she was extremly relived that he had said sorry, and couldn't be any happier. They could all put this silly incident behind them, and carry on as normal. Her and Yoshiki, and Satoshi with Naomi. It was going to get better! Their lips connected breifly before they pulled away, both blushing and remembering the first time they had kissed - by the beach, in the moonlight.

"I will always love you..." he whispered into her ear, stroking her hair gently with his rough fingers. Ayumi nodded, backing away slightly to hide her overly flushed face.

"Hey, Yosh, can i come over yours tomorrow?" she asked, her school prodject still jigling in her mind. "Pleeease!"

Yoshiki laughed at her pleading eyes and nodded, tossling her hair playfully.

"See 'ya tomorrow, Ayumi!" he called cheerfully, stepping outside of the house. She watched as he turned around slowly, itching to go with him, but she couldn't leave the house with out at least telling Hinoe. Impulsivly, she ran down the road and pecked him lightly on the cheeck, before rushing back, bright red. Yoshiki chuckled to himself, and started strolling around the corner, away from Ayumi's house. Ayumi sighed to herself, closing the door and entering the house. What she didn't notice, was the fact Hinoe had been watching from _upstairs_ the whole time, a worried look in her eyes. Pelting back into her room, she rumaged in her fancy desk, and swiftly withdrew a old, yellowing scrap of paper. She looked at the floor in fear, crumpling the piece of paper in her hand. Hinoe had hoped perhaps he had dumped her sister, not that she didn't want her sister to get into a relationship, but an entirely different reason. It concerned her greatly that they

were growing closer now, and maybe to the extent that Yoshiki would do anythingfte for his love for her. If she saw signs of this, she'd have to tell Ayumi the truth about their gifted bloodlines curse before things started getting serious. Hinoe shook her head, wondering if she was overreacting slightly. Her sisters relationship was harmless, they werent exactly going to be together forever, so that eased Hinoes mind a little. She still wondered whether she should tell her about the curse, but there was no point really until she really needed to.

Hinoe didn't know that Ayumi was about to find out...

* * *

Satoshi and Naomi were hauled up in Naomi's bedroom, 'doing homework'. It was true that they both had maths homework from that school day to finish, but they did want to have a good chat together too. Naomi found that she could tell anything to the easy going boy, whether it be her problems, fanatsies or just a rant. He would always listen to her, and although she didn't think she was a great one, she listened loyally in return.

The stupid (and now resolved) incident had put Satoshi further away from his goal of stopping the problem of the memories escaping the Heavenly Host. Although Hinoe had discussed the options clearly, he still wasn't sure how he could help the people effected by this. Maybe if he met up with Tsukasa soon, he could work with him more to help him remember Yui. There were only a few years between them, and anyway, in Satoshi's opinion, age doesn't matter, it's the potiential some one has that counts. You see people on the news all the time, he thought, like five year olds becoming renowned musicians and elderly people just learning to write. Did it really matter? Not to him. Naomi was sprawled on her bed, biting a pen in concerntration. The girl was extremely intelligent, and sometimes that made Satoshi feel a little overwhelmed, like she knew the answer to every acedemic questions. But she wasn't perfect, and Satoshi knew that, however Satoshi didn't care, he still loved her. He often found himself wondering if Naomi had a crush on him before he confessed, since she seemed a little oblivious, but he couldn't exactly read minds. No, he'd leave that to Hinoe or Ayumi, all the psycic stuff.

"You know Satoshi, do you ever feel like you just need a break...from life?" she asked, giving him a sideways, wistful smile.

"Yeah totally, but you shouldn't take this life for granted!" he responded, crossing out a whole line of his equation, making an enemy of algebra.

"I suppose. Maybe we just lay off a while, forget all this spiritual buisness and give yourself a break." Naomi suggested, zipping up her sapphire blue pencil case, "It wouldn't do any harm."

"Its a good idea and its ending the year anyway. Soon we'll be seniors you know!"

"Satoshi-sepai," she teased, jumping off the bed "Don't be so serious, lighten up."

Says you, muttered Satoshi under his breath. Naomi often let her emotions take control of herself, so she couldn't really say that to him.

"Fine, fine. I'll lay low for a while, no more sessions with Hinoe, no worrying, nothing."

"Good," Naomi approved "But be sure to tell Shinozaki about it, you don't want her to think your giving up!"

"True, but i'm going to stay a bit further away from Ayumi; i don't want anything awkward to happen again especially after last time."

Naomi nodded with a sigh, looking over Satoshi who was leaning over his work at her desk. She really enjoyed their little chats, even heart-to-hearts. It really made her day and she hoped, brought a little joy to Satoshi too. She was going to keep a sharp eye on him in the next few weeks, making sure he didn't do anything too stressful or crazy. It was going to be her duty, and she'd honor it with all her heart.

* * *

i**Thanks for reading as always, but I have a few questions to chat you you guys about. So those of you who write stories, do you do a big writing session or do you write the day you upload? Personally I don't have enough time to sit down straight and write a whole story, or say five chapters, so im more the latter. Do you plan your stories ahead or make it up as you go along? I do a bit of both though I generally just have a basic plot and add to that...**

**p.s, I put a poll on my profile asking which stories you want to see next! It will be open for a week, and then I will start writing it and hopefully upload soon after. It's officially open now, so it will last until 14th of August.**

**thanks again guys (・ω・)ノ**


	18. Chapter 18 - New Parks

**Hiya, i'm back with another chapter today!**

**DO NOT worry, i'm not going to repeat the events of the blood drive chapter since it's really sad so yeah. Plus i feel like i've grown attached to Hinoe since she's a character in this story and i don't want to kill her. Or Ayumi. And i really don't want to kill Yoshiki...**

**Anyway enjoy this new chapter! See ya tomorrow!**

* * *

**Chapter 18: Breaks**

It was bright Saturday morning, a couple of weeks after the problem had been resolved, and everyone was generally on good terms with eachother. The four friends were planning a day out, a pinic in the park just down the road from their school. Ayumi would of liked to of gone to her special park, but it was in school and obviously it was shut for the weekend so she couldn't go. This park was bigger though, so it was a better place for them all to gather. There was a large childrens playground in the right hand corner, as well as a vast garden with colourful blooms and a large green maze. Satoshi had been there many times with Yuka and his family, so he knew what things to pack and had taken the responsability to choose what things to take for lunch for the other things. He hoped that the day wouldn't end as drastically as the last time they had spent a whole day together, when Ayumi had passed out and Yoshiki had rushed home with the girl slung on his shoulder. Satoshi sometimes found himself wishing he could do all that heroic stuff for Naomi, instead of being the whimpy one all the time. He hoped that factor of him wouldn't put her off.

"Onii-chan!" cried Yuka, leaping into the room with a large smile. Satoshi admired his sister for being such an optimist especially after what happend, nothing like that should over ever happened to the small and innocent girl. In her hands was a large woven picnic basket, with a soft checkered, cotton blanket hanging out from the corner of it.

"Hiya Yuka, your awake finally!" laughed Satoshi, taking the basket gratefully out of his sisters hands. He quickly picked up the tin foil wrapped sandwiches his kind mother had prepared for him earlier and stashed them away for later. Other things he packed were: crisps, nuts, fizzy drinks and a few other assorted snacks.

"Will that be enough for you, Naomi and the others?" asked his mother considerably from the kitchen.

"Yup, that'll be fine. I'll bring money in case theres an ice cream van in the park!"

Satoshi headed for the door, not aware that Yuka was trailing beind him with a rather pained look on her face. In fact, Yuka had been feeling quite lonely recently, what with Satoshi going to hospital; Satoshi spending so much time with that pretty girl, and Satsuki watching that non-stop TV series, Yuka didn't really have anyone to spend time with. She had overhead her brother with Naomi again the night before, and she had heard her giggling, and Satoshi seemed to be extra nice to her for somereason. Yuka had been even more shocked when she had peeped through the crack in the door to see them both blushing, their faces close together. Satoshi couldn't possibly have a _girlfriend_, could he? It made her angry just thinking that someone else was stealing her beloved onii-chan's affections away from her direction! Yuka was desperate to find out. Silently she followed Satoshi outside the house, alerting him by pulling on his left leg tightly, forcing him to stop moving.

"Yuka?! Eh, get off my leg!" he yelled, springing away from her.

"Sorry, but Yuka needs to ask a really, really important question to her Onii-chan!" lisped Yuka, her eyes shining with tears.

"Uh, go ahead...?!"

"Yuka wants you to stop playing with Naomi-chan so much pweeease!"

"That wasn't a question Yuka, you should know that by now, your almost 15!"

His statement was very true. Although Yuka may of looked extremely young, her birthday was coming around the corner and she would be 15 years old. It was great that it was her birthday of course, she got showered in gifts and attention from Satoshi and her parents, however it also meant she got a year older; a year further away from being the little child she loved to be. It was her biggest fear that her parents would stop favouring her, or Satoshi would no longer look out for her and no longer spend so much with her. She was dreading it...

"Oh. Is Naomi-chan your girlfriend?"

"Uh...Maybe!" came Satoshi's embaressed reply, making Yuka frown with jelousy. "What about that boy you said you liked?"

"I can't...he's got a girlfriend already!"

"Oh, thats just _too_ bad Yuka!"

Satoshi turned the corner, waving dismissively as he left. Yuka fled back into the house, her face now streaming with silent tears.

* * *

The night before the friends went out, it had been one of the rare occasions that Ayumi had had a sleepover at Naomi's house. They didn't do this often, since Ayumi spent so much time at Yoshiki's these day's, and Naomi avoided it because it reminded her of the many times she had had slumper parties with Seiko. Her mother often asked her why she never did this with her friends, and it pained Naomi greatly when she talked to her about that. It was so sad that her mother couldn't remember how many times Seiko slept over; it had been an awful lot. But now Seiko was gone and she didn't need a thousand threapy sessions to tell her that. Even though Ayumi could never replace Naomi's best friend, she was still a good friend and comfort.

"I'm so excited for today," giggled Ayumi, sitting infront of Naomi's make up mirror, perched on the chair. "This will be the first day we can actually, _officially_ have a double date!"

Naomi nodded, pulling a brush through Ayumi's shiny blue-black hair. Naomi had a secret knack for style an fashion, although she didn't show it in person. Her hair was short, mousey brown and coarse, and she wasn't the type to _wear _make-up, but she liked to do it on other people. Ayumi liked to be fussed over, so they worked in sync perfectly. Naomi's nimble hands brushed through her hair, quickly braiding it to the side, picking up strands of hair with every section. In the end, it turned out to be a pretty french plait to the side, with a stylish ribbion weaved in at the end. It suited Ayumi's small heart shaped face perfectly, and her make-up went with the pretty autumnal dress she had paired with beige leggins.

"You look gorgous!" smiled Naomi, holding a mirror up so Ayumi could see the back "Yoshiki will practically faint when he sees you later!"

Ayumi blushed pink, giggling as she got up. She took pride in her appearence, and often wondered why Naomi didn't bother with hers. But they didn't have much longer to talk as Satoshi and Yoshiki were already waiting at the door.

"Giiiiirls!" called Naomi's mother from downstairs. The two girls rushed downstairs, Ayumi running foward, and Naomi staying behind for a few seconds to bid goodbye to her mother. Her mothers concern for her had grown greatly since the therapist incident, so she didn't let Naomi out very often.

"Bye.." Naomi said as she closed the door.

"Bye sweetheart. Call me if anything happens!"

Naomi ran outside to greet her friends, who were alreday chatting rapidally to Ayumi. They all looked so happy and casual, as if nothing had had happened over the last couple of months. It finally felt normal.

Yoshiki's eyes latched onto Ayumi, taking in her beautiful appearence. He was love struck by her bright face and lushious hair, and couldn't help it but walking over to her and stroking her delicate cheek. She blushed as he traced her made up face, savouring the moment as it came like it would never happen again. Satoshi stared at them, wondering how they could be so public with their relationship. As the other two kissed, Naomi drew closer to Satoshi, wondering whether she should do the same. Satoshi was thinking the same thing, but the tension was broken when Yoshiki broke away and called the others. Joining hands, Satoshi and Naomi followed the other couple, both satisfied with the small act of romance. They walked down the winding pavements, past their to school and into the park gates. Satoshi spread out the picnic blanket quickly, laying out the various food items he had packed for lunch. Sure enough it time for lunch, and everyones stomach was rumbling considerably loudy, especially Naomi's, since she didn't generally eat breakfast. Satoshi's mother knew his friends well and had packed sandwiches with fillings that everyone liked.

"Peanut butter and Jam?" commented Ayumi, glancing at Yoshiki's sandwich, "That's _so_ unhealthy you know!"

"Tsk," came his reply "At least i'm not a health freak like you, there are like, 5 vegatables in _yours_!"

Satoshi and Naomi laughed, enjoying their particular sandwiches. The three began to chat with each other, but Ayumi's line of vision was elsewhere, She had spotted a little blonde girl by the large playground, seemingly lost in the crowd with a worried look on her face. People just walked by, ignoring her pleas for help, and that made Ayumi angry. Eventually the girl walked over and sat on a bench by their picnic spot, hugging her knees.

"Yosh..." Ayumi said, tugging on his collar "Look at that girl, I think she's been seperated from her family!"

"Uh...I can't see how I can help." he replied, biting into another piece of his sandwich. Ayumi rolled her eyes; sometimes her boyfriend could be so insensitive.

"Well, I think we should help her!"

"Ayuuuuumi! You know i'm not good with kids!"

But Ayumi had already gotten up, and was in the process of pulling Yoshiki up. Yoshiki tutted, putting his hands carelessly in his pockets, but not resisting to Ayumi's demand. She approched the child, bending down so she wouldn't scare it.

"Hello, are you lost?" Ayumi asked, with a smlie. The blonde girl nodded, letting a small tear fall from her glassy blue eyes. "What's your name? My name's Ayumi Shinozaki, and this is my boyfriend, Yoshiki Kishinuma!"

Yoshiki grinned at the girl, thinking that she oddly resembled Ayumi due to their similar sapphire eyes. The little girl smiled back, though still biting her lip nervously.

"My name is Ume Mikuni..." she replied getting up from the bench. "I was here with my mother and baby sister, and I was playing in the playground,. Mummy said she'd wait for me, but when I went back to the bench she was sitting on before, she was gone!"

"Its okay, don't cry, we'll find your family!" assured Ayumi, taking the little girls hand. She glanced at Yoshiki, who was looking slightly bored.

"_Are we_?" questioned Yoshiki, following Ayumi. Ayumi galred at him, still holding the girls hand. "Fine."

Satoshi looked on, noting how the three looked like a young family. The little girl had cute blonde bunches and bright blue eyes, resembling the couple quite a lot. Naomi didn't see this, but she did see how Ayumi looked so motherlike, like herself really. Naomi loved children, however, decided not to help, since she was now alone with Satoshi and was secretly quite pleased.

"I wonder if that's what Yoshiki and Ayumi's kids will look liked..." mused Satoshi, squinting at the little girl.

"God Satoshi, what makes you think that they will ever have kids?"

"Its entirely possible though. I mean they have slept together..."

"Eh! What..How would you know?"

"He boasted about it all the way to your house! Don't think i'm a freak, Naomi."

"I'd never think that..." she whispered with a slight smile.

Meanwhile, Ayumi was having no luck finding the girls family, and Yoshiki was getting impatient. She left the group to talk to a few people, glancing at Ume and pointing at her, asking if they had seen a tall blonde woman pushing a sunny yellow pram with a baby girl inside. Ume, now a bit more comfortable with Yoshiki's presence, looked up to him with a smile.

"Miss Shinozaki is very pretty isn't she, Mr..."

"Yoshiki. Just Yoshiki."

"Sorry..."

"Ayumi is the prettiest girl i've ever seen. But's that not why I love her though."

"Huh? But i though the prince always falls in love with the princess for her beauty!"

"Life isn't a fairytale," he replied bluntly "Things don't work out. Looks aren't everything. It's what's inside that counts."

"But Mr...Yoshiki, that doesn't make sense!"

"Ayumi!" he called, not wanting to speak to the girl anymore. "Let's get moving."

* * *

Satoshi lay on the picnic blanket beside Naomi, soaking up the sun whilst it lasted. They chatted sweetly together, like the good old times with a little bit of romance thrown in. Naomi was glad she was achiving her goal of distracting Satoshi from his worries. Satoshi on the other hand, was just glad that he had her undivided company. He felt himself drifting off when a familiar voice awoke him.

"Arghh!" Tsukasa yelled "Where have they gone?

* * *

**A/N: That cliffhanger though**

**Please leave a review as always! o(｀ω´ )o**


	19. Chapter 19 - One

**Sorry for not uploading yesterday, but it's early morning and most my viewers are from U.S.A so it's something like 3 am there or something.**

**Oh well.**

* * *

Satoshi stared at Tsukasa's panicked expression, and wondered what on earth he was doing here in such a strange state. He had last seen him a while ago in the hospital when they had exchanged numbers, but he looked strangely different now. Naomi caught his line of vision, and gently pulled his shoulder back.

"Do you know this guy?" she asked, doubting he he did. However Satoshi nodded, giving Naomi a 'be right back' look, and lunged towards Tsukasa.

"Tsu...? What's up?"

It took a few moments for him to recognise Satoshi, but when he did, his face seemed to relax a little and he grimanced, putting both hands on his hips in a casual stand.

"Oh Hiya Mochida," came his breif reply "Sorry if I startled you. Lovely day for this time of month, am I right?"

"Uh, yeah." said Satoshi maverling at his quick recovery "I love this park."

"I like it too, but I much prefer the one we had in school. I sat on the bench, looking up, the jade green canopy above me, the breeze rushing around me. I can remember it now."

"Right. Were you, uh, maybe looking for someone?"

"Oh yes thats right!" he shouted, snapping his fingers as if he'd actually forgotten in the few short moments he had been talking to Satoshi. "I'm looking for my sister."

"Your sister?" echoed Satoshi, raising his eyebrows "How old is she?"

"Not much younger than myself really. She's one of these spirity types, you know, and I was dropping by her house when I saw all this black dust coming out of it. I was worried it was a fire, but nothing seemed to be burning."

"Does she, perhaps, have a child?"

"Two, both girls. Why?"

"I think I might know who your looking for,"

Satoshi quickly explained about his friends finding a small blonde girl who was lost and trying to find her mother and baby sister. This made sense to Tsukasa, since Ume was always wondering off when they went out.

"Where are your friends?" inquried Tsukasa quickly, not wanting to waste time. Satoshi pointed in the direction of them, making out the tall figure of Yoshiki, and Ayumi holding hands with the little girl. Tsukasa nodded and thanked him gratefully, before rushing off in the direction of them. Satoshi shook his head. Tsukasa hadn't been mentioning Yui at all, so maybe he was having a break from all the spirit stuff too? He didn't know how he had seemingly let his mind drift away from Yui and the memories, where as Satoshi couldn't stop thinking about them unless Naomi was by his side.

"Satoshi?" called Naomi loudly from the picnic table "Are you-"

"I'm coming!" he yelled, snapping out of his daze. He didn't want to let Naomi down by thinking about it again and breaking the pact, so be put his easy bright smile on and flopped back down next to her. He told her about Tsukasa and that the little girl was his niece; and how easily Tsu had been in a panic. Naomi just laughed lightly, her eyes smiling with flecks of white in them from the sun. She lay next to him, wondering if she should come closer to him. But she didn't need to think about that, Satoshi had already put his arm around her shoulder, and was gazing at her adoringly. Naomi wasn't used to people doing stuff like that to her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, a slow blush creeping over her cheeks. Satoshi laughed, turning over so he could see her probably.

"Was it you who did Shinozaki's hair and face this morning?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Why didn't you do your own?"

Naomi sighed not wanting to answer. Truthfully she rarely put make up on because she knew she looked terrible, and no amount of powder and lipstick could change that. Every night she stared at herself hatefully in the mirror, cursing the heavy black bags she always had under her brown eyes. She wished she was pretty like Ayumi, or beautiful like all of the models in the magazines Seiko used to read. It wasn't fair, and now was Satoshi going to judge her on her looks?

"I...I know i'm ugly," she sighed, crossing her arms defecivly "No amount of make up can change that."

Satoshi didn't reply. He just looked at her doubtfully, wondering if this was really what she thought about herself.

"You don't have to wear make up...because your already so beautiful the way you are!"

Naomi's heart did a double flip as he said those words, and could help but throw her arms around him again. Satoshi hugged her warmly, his lips right by her cute little ears.

"I don't ever want to lose you."

They could feel their hearts close together, beating at the same time as one. The moment was perfect. Satoshi found his hand on her cheek, gently stroking her like she was a pet. Their faces drew closer together, feeling the breath fall from the other persons mouth. They were both bright red, heated, but especially Satoshi wasn't going to back out now. Naomi's heart was now beating what seemed like a hundered times more than the normal rate, and as their lips came together, Naomi knew he was the one.

* * *

"Uncle Tsukasa!" cried the little girl, her blue eyes lighting up at the sight of him.

"Hey little Ume. Where's Ai gone?"

Ayumi and Yoshiki exchanged surprised glances, neither of them really knowing who this ginger haired man was. Tsukasa looked up apoligeticly, lifting Ume carefully onto his shoulders.

"Mummy's gone. Miss Shinozaki and Mr Yoshiki were helping me look for her!"

"That's right, Satoshi said you were lost..."

"Exuse me?" interuppted Yoshiki, glancing worriedly at the Ume on his shoulders. "Who are you and how do you know Satoshi?"

"Uh, sorry how rude of me i'm always like this. I'm Tsukasa Mikuni, this is my niece and we're looking for my sister Ai Mikuni and Umes half sister, Emi."

"Okay. Just wanted to make sure you weren't a random creep..."

"Hahaha! And I know Mochida from the hospital, i was working there as training for a couple of weeks."

"Oh. We were just helping here..." trailed of Ayumi, not knowing what to make of Tsukasa.

"Ume!" cried a womans voice from nearby. A young woman with pale ginger hair and purple-blue eyes came runing towards the group. She was pushing a lilac push chair with a screaming baby inside. Yoshiki nudged Ayumi, telling her he'd clearly had enough of this now, but Ayumi as curious of the family, so she shurgged her shoulders to tell that she didn't mind if he went back, but she was staying. Yoshiki rolled his eyes and walked over to the picnic spot, hands in his pockets. Ayumi turned back to the scene.

"Tsu, what are you doing here? asked the young woman with a frown, as Tsukasa brought Ume back to the floor.

"I saw weird black fumes coming out of your house. At first I thought it was smoke, but then i realised it had sparkles in it."

Black flames with sparkles in it? It sounded like Ai was gifted and practicing some sort of magic in her house. To Ayumi, this was very interesting indeed.

"You must be imaging things," snapped Ai, gently patting Ume's blonde little head "I have no idea what your talking about Tsu."

Ume walked over to Ayumi, and tugged her towards her mother.

"We can't for get Miss Shinozaki, mummy, here and Mr Yoshiki helped me!"

"Wait, what?" Ai suddenly stammered, glancing at the girl "What's your name again?"

"Ayumi Shinozaki..."

"Oh right." said Ai, laughing nervously a little. "Thanks for helping my daughter it's very kind of you. Come on Ume, it's time we got going."

Ai, still pushing the pram, led Ume and her older brother towards the entrance of the park. Ayumi mulled over their conversation. Why had Ai stammered when Ume said her name? Maybe she'd met a Shinozaki before or something, it was nothing really.

Or was it?

* * *

Ayumi caught up with Yoshiki, twisting her fingers around his with a smile. The apporched the picnic mat, noticing something different about their two friends.

"From here they look like their heads are attached..." mused Yoshiki, squinting to get a better look at them. Ayumi rolled her eyes; sometimes Yoshiki could be so insensitive.

"Give them space," she giggled, pushing Yoshiki against a tree."Their kissing!"

Too right; Ayumi was. But eventually the pulled away after the hour long absence of their friends. Ayumi watched them from behind the tree, fully aware that Yoshiki's arms were tight around her waist.

"Why'd you drag me here?" he whispered into her hair as she peered at the others. "It better be for a good reason..."

"Later, i promise!" she giggled, untangling herself from him. "We should head back to the spot now,"

As they walked Yoshiki leant over to whisper in her ear.

"You better keep that promise..."

* * *

**Thanks for reading this!**

**I wrote this chapter realising how much i love this Satoshi x Naomi ship!**

**Its soooooo cute! (\^0^/)**

**(humble face is humble)**

**Bye! x**


	20. Chapter 20 - Grow up

**Another chapter of Bittersweet is here for you all!**

**By the way if your curious about my user name it just means purple in welsh with an x on the end. Yep i was born in wales. Yay...?**

**So with out further ado, _mwynhau pawb!_**

**_Enjoy everyone!_**

* * *

Satoshi closed the door, a slight spring in his usual clumsy step. Yesterday had been one of the best days of his entire life, he finally had the courage to kiss Naomi, and even in a puplic place as well. Thankgoodness Yoshiki hadn't been watching, or he would of teased Satoshi silly, laughing at him and would mosy likely tell him he was proud of him 'growing up'. Naomi had actually mentioned she had spotted him and Ayumi snogging behind a tree after they broke away, but Satoshi didn't really care, since the moment had been theirs, and theirs alone. When he had got home, he had gone straight to his phone and social networks, still wanting to see more of his girlfriend, even if it was just online. Yuka had begged him to play with her, but she had shook her off, telling her he had some important stuff to do. Yuka would usually believe her big brother, but she had her doubts since he had spent all his time with at silly, big chested girl all day, and had completly ignored her. It made her feel slightly unwanted, even if she had the attention of her adoring parents...

Satoshi was oblivious of how she felt towards him, and that made Yuka even more upset. Maybe, he would notice her more if she grew up a little, matured even. Yes, Yuka had her mind fixed on it, she would become just like Naomi, mature and beautiful, instead of silly and clingy. That would defifinatly show Satoshi! She couldn't do that by herself though, she needed someone's help, and not just any one person. She crept into Satoshi's bright blue bedroom, coughing slightly, for Satoshi hadn't seemed to have noticed her presence. She skipped over to his bed, jumping on him and knocking his phone out of his hands to get his attention. Satoshi let out a slightly agitated grunt and pushed her of him, making her smile fade a little.

"Yuka! Did you have to jump on me?"

"Sorry." came her reply, without her usual pout or sad tone. Satoshi sat up, wondering if he had done anything to upset his little sister, but when he thought about it, nothing sprang to mind.

"What's up Yuka?"

"Yuka-chan wanted to as a question..."

"Another one?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, go ahead, I bet i was as curious when I was your age!"

"Do you...Do you think i'm a bit of a baby?"

"Huh?"

"Like, am I bratty and spoilt and do I get on your nerves all the time?"

Satoshi looked at her sister, who was avoiding eye contact and sheepishly staring the the blue duvet covers. She really was, but he didn't want to tell her up straight harshly.

"You do act a bit young for your age, and sometimes that gets a bit annoying."

"Oh..."

"But, listen Yuka, your my little sister, and that won't change. I will love you if your immature, or super grown up i don't think it matters. It all depends on, it just depends on...well, you!"

Yuka mulled over Satoshi's reply wondering what he'd say if she mentioned Naomi.

"You know Naomi-chan..." she started.

"Yeah..." he replied dreamily "Very well!"

"Would you like it if I were to look like her? Act like her? Be like Naomi-chan?"

"NO." shouted Satoshi abrubtly, making Yuka flinch slightly. "No, Yuka.

"Onii-chan..."

"No one can replace Naomi." he said softly "You must of guessed that she's my girlfriend by now, and that doesn't mean I don't still love you Yuka-chan! You don't have to act like her to be loved by me, i'll still always care for you, you know, your family."

Yuka felt her ears burn at that word, 'family'. She thought she was more than family.

"Thanks brother. I think I know what I want to do now."

Satoshi watched as she jumped off the bed, slowly turned around and left through the door. Yuka was a peculiar person, and not just him thought that. She will understand once she's older and has experienced these kind of thigs for herself, Satoshi reckoned in his head. With one last puzzled sight, Satoshi picked his phone back from the floor, and began to reply to the 10 text messages Naomi had sent him whilst he was with Yuka. Chuckling, he pressed send.

* * *

Ayumi was on her laptop again, opening up the browser like she had done so casually a few weeks ago. She had stayed the night at Yoshiki's, much to his delight, and had returned home to one of Hinoe's nosey conversations late in the morning. Ayumi had refused to tell her sister anything she had done at Yoshiki's last night, for it was her own personal buisness and Hinoe really didn't _need_ to know. This particular comment had annoyed the usually placid Hinoe, but she hadn't pushed it any further in order to stay on the good side of her sister. Ayumi had instantly rushed to her room to 'shower and get changed' but had really just flopped on her bed with her laptop and started it up. Although the events last night with Yoshiki should of distracted her, she still couldn't stop thinking about the mysterious woman she had met yesterday. Ai Mikuni, was her name, she remembered. She had seemed like a perfectly normal mother, but when Tsukasa had mentioned the black, sparkly smoke, Ayumi was sure that Ai had something to do with magic or at least, was gifted of some sort. Ayumi knew that her and her sister were gifted themselves, and Hinoe often spoke of the witches time in the middle ages, where they performed black magic and were gifted with the spirits. Even now Ayumi was inturigued by the mysteries and stories Hinoe had spoke of, especially about the _Book of Shadows_, which was a code only readable by the gifted, containing all the information about magic and spirits. It was in all sorts of lanuages, mainly French and other european languages, but she was sure that it could be in Japan right now, since the Heavenly Host was and only accesible in Japan. First, she typed Ai's full name into the search bar, waiting a few moments for the browser to process. The results were mostly for social networking sites, like any young woman, but there was nothing that really caught her eye. She was starting to doubt her theory when on the seventh page, the spiritual websit from before came to to view. She clicked without thinking, and a 'members list' popped up. How was this even accesible via online, wouldn't they want to keep all the gifted people a secret? But not all of them could be gifted, Kou Kibiki wasn't, however that din't stop him from researching paranormal activities or spaces. She scanned past the 'ABC' list, not thinking it would go by first name, and ended up on the 'M' section.

"Makano...Mikaru...Mikuni!" she muttered under her breath, sounding slightly relived towards the end. Ai Mikuni. There it was! She clicked on the profile, which had little information and contact details to go on. It looked like this:

Ai Mikuni.

Aged 23

17/01

Japan.

Private message username: ai1.70.1

This wasn't really much, but it was definitly better than nothing. Ayumi scrolled past an advert and onto the 'written article' section. What had she written about?

*Edited: _Book of Shadows_

_*_Edited: _History of the gifted_

*Created: _Magic spells_

*Co-Created: The Shinozaki estate

The Shinozaki Estate? She had read about that on this website, and Ai had co-created it? That meant that she must know about it as well! Maybe that was the reason Ai had done a double stake at the mention of her name, Shinozaki, because she was in the bloodline! Desperate to know more, she dived to her phone and texted Satoshi, asking for Tsukasa's number. He hestiatantly sent it a few minutes later, wondering what on earth she'd want Tsu's number for. But his number wasn't the one she wanted, she needed to dig a bit deeper than that. Tapping out a bref but polite messgae to Tsukasa, she sighed, her head muddled with different thoughts and theories, making her want to shout in frustaion. Sure enough, a few minutes later, a ping came from her phone with a reply from Tsukasa Mikuni. Like Satoshi he had given the number without question, making Ayumi laugh out at how easy this was going to be. She was about to as whether he'd give the adress but didn't wantto freak out him so subsequently didn't. Smiling at her discovery, she lay flat on the bed, arms drooping of the side and legs bunched up tight. She was in perfect, utter silence, until Hinoe walked into the room with a bang.

"I've been watching you closely, and your growing up" she said, getting straight to the point, "It's time you learnt the truth, Ayumi-chan."

* * *

**A/N: Ooh i'm being mean. Sorry for that suspended ending!**

**Warning: Small/insignificant spoilers (trying not to include them) for Mad Father**

**All of you followers/reviewers/readers who are corpse party fans (if your not, then why are you reading this o.O) I found another horror game with a great story! It's called _Mad Father_ and it's quite like corpse party in some ways. It's based around a girl called Aya, whose mansion is under a curse and she has to escape it, but she wants to save her father in the process. The mystery revolves around her late mothers death and fathers strange prodjects, which take place in the basements underneath the rooms. She has to escape from Zombies, monsters and solve puzzles and stuff in order to find things and escape and stuff. Stuff. What's awesome is she goes round with these mini chainsaws! Yay...? It's free to download (I haven't played it myself) and their have been several let's plays by youtubers like PewDiePie and Cryotic, which is how I found it. It's got an absoloutely horrific twist at the end though (if you've seen the last part your just like 'Aww Dio that's so cute' then like "OMG NO O.o!")so it's worth checking out. I also think it's simalar to The Witches House and Ib (which i have seen the first parts of) but more or less yeah, go check it out.**

**Sorry for that long paragraph thingy. Another chapter coming yourway soon!**


	21. Chapter 21 - Fate

"What?"

Hinoe came over and sat on the edge of Ayumi's bed turning to face her. For the past half an hour or so, Ayumi had been researching Ai Mikuni and the Shinozaki estate, desperatly trying to piece together the mystery revolving her ancestrey. This had just started as a side history prodject, but ow it was developing into something much more, an obsession. She didn't have to do this, oh no, it was via her own will, but now she had started it, she needed to finish it just like anyother prodject, from school or not. Earlier in the week, she had drawn out a rough copy of her family tree, as far as she could trace back without any research or help from Hinoe or her parents. Ayumi hadn't got that far really, just her, her parents, her grandparents and great-grandparents. Also including various distant members as well, Ayumi noticed the lack of living males in the chart, making her wonder why on earth why her father seemed to be one of the only ones that were still alive. Maybe it was a genetic thing; that was the logical situation.

Whilst Ayumi had been researching away, Hinoe had been worrying away. Although the peaceful and placid type, sometimes she couldn't help feeling concerned over somethings, especially the welfare of her sister, even though she knew it upset the tension with the spirits. She told herself it was just human nature, and although she was gifted, she was surely allowed to ask questions and feel uncertain emotions like her sister and everyone else. It was perfectly normal. However, there was one thing on her mind a lot of the time. A few years back whilst training to be a medium, she was asked to have a look at her families heratige, and prided herself in doing do. Hinoe knew a lot more about their family then Ayumi did now, and had even ventured to the paranormal Shinozaki estate once to find the ancient family tree enclosed in a scroll in a sealed off room, only accesibale by the gifted or related. Whilst looking for this, she came across several interesting files that she didn't read on site, but proved to be very important when she returned home to read them all. After uncovering the section on the 'Seji Father Curse' she cornered her mother, asking why their father was still alive. Her mother insisted she had no idea about the curse, and she had scolded Hinoe on being too obsessed with the 'so called' spirits. Hinoe spend every day after that trying to figure out why her father was still alive, since every one else in the family had died several years after the birth of the first child, also explaining why they had no siblings. One day, it just dawned on her. Looking at the copied out family tree again, she realised that her father was the one on the Shinozaki bloodline, explaining everything she had wondered about for so long. It also explained how she could have a sister! But it also made her think about her own life choices. Unlike her father, she was female, and that meant if she was to marry and have children, her husband would surely die like all the other ones in the past. That was why she needed to tell Ayumi, before she had any idea's about moving in with Yoshiki, which she thought they were probarbly planning even though they had only been together for a couple of months. Despite the fact it was only a young relationship, Hinoe couldn't help fretting about it and had decided to tell Ayumi now just in case.

"I need to tell you something about our family bloodline." she replied in her soft tone, smiling as Ayumi's eyes perked up and she put her laptop away. She seemed interested at least, and that would make it a bit eaiser.

"Sure, i've actually been researching about it a lot for a family tree prodject in history class, but not much has come up."

"Oh really?" questioned Hinoe, wondering how far she'd got with that. Obviously not far enough.

"Yeah. I found out about the Shinozaki estate, and apperently that might have a family tree somewhere..."

"Ayumi, do not go to the Shinozaki Estate, i've warned you now."

"Wha...Why?!"

"It's full of treacherous spirits and traps all around the place. In fact, some memories form Yoshie and Sachiko still lurk there, and many curious but foolish Shinozaki's and gifted people have ventured there, searching for the truth, only to never return. Trust me, it's a bad idea."

"How would you know that?" countered Ayumi with a frown, crossing her arms.

"I've been there myself. Is that enough?"

Ayumi stared at her sister with stunned eyes. Hinoe, of all people had gone to the danger of going to the Shinozaki estate?

"I suppose..."

"Now, what was I going to say. Oh yes, the _curse_ in our family's bloodline. I haven't told you about this, and I wasn't going to until you were a bit older but it seemes your already deleving into our history."

"Go ahead and tell me, Onii-chan!"

"The males of the family are adopted into it my marrige." Hinoe explained, smiling at her sister. "Of course they did it for love. One example of this is a man called Seji, primarily Yoshie's husband and Sachiko's father. He died several years after the birth of Sachiko of unknown causes."

"Isn't that possible?"

"Listen. Every generation before this tradgedy, had the same fate. The father would always die. This was in order to keep the bloodline pure, and that all of the daughters would be gifted, like the mother before them. There have been no male heirs until..."

"..Our father." trailed of Ayumi, understanding Hinoe's words. "Then that means, our families will have the same fate?"

"I'm afraid that is most likely." replied Hinoe, with sorrowful, rounded eyes.

"That explains alot really." exclaimed Ayumi, looking wistfully at her sister. "Your much older then me, yet your not married. Why won't you marry?"

"I don't want to start a family just to keep the gifted bloodline pure, if that means the love of my life will end up dead. Even though I know it's important to keep all us daughters gifted, but is it really worth it?"

Ayumi didn't know how to reply to that. Ayumi agreed with her sister, it wasn't fair for your love to die just to keep up the gifted bloodline, but also disagreed, since wasn't it their fateful duty? There was one question on her mind though, and that was: Why had Hinoe hold her now?

"Onii-chan...Why have you told me now, and not earlier or later?"

"I thought you were to young, and I thought I was right until you met Kishinuma-kun..."

"You don't approve of our relationship?"

"No it's not that! I just don't what you to get too serious with him, especially with her curse."

"God, Hinoe, it's not like we're going to get _married! _Were only 17, not 27!" Ayumi retorted, her temper rising up.

"I know, I just don't want you to be thinking long term, like-"

"Oh my god, were just a couple, and maybe we've slept together, but i'm a teenager, can't i just live a NORMAL LIFE?!"

Ayumi glared at her sister, angry now. Hinoe had just seemed slightly nosey and curious, but now she wanted to stop her relationship, even though they were barely making the curse go into effect! Hinoe looked back at Ayumi with icy, concerned eyes, making Ayumi feel a little bad, but not enough for her to swallow her pride. She stood up, grabbing her jacket in the process.

"You know what, I'm going _back_ to Yoshiki's!"

* * *

"Man, you need to dumb down at this game!" said Satoshi jokingly, pressing his thumbs hard on the controller, trying his best to beat Yoshiki's high score. The two had decided to have a break from the girl's to have a 'manly talk' and video game contest in the process. However, it wasn't going anywhere, since Yoshiki had beated Satoshi at the same race five times straight, and Satoshi was feeling rather beaten up.

"Not for you, not for _anyone_. Come on man, even Ayumi can get a better score then you at this simple race!" Yoshiki replied laughing at the concerntration lines across Satoshi's face. He tried hard, but he just wasn't very good at video games. "Anyway, what's this about you two kissing at the park without me there?"

Satoshi blushed, jamming his fingers on three buttons at once, making snappy sounds as they played.

"So what if we did. You've done it enough times with Ayumi, never mind just in public!"

"Haha. I didn't think you'd be man enough to do it!"

"Hey, whay d'ya mean! I'm a total badass man."

Yoshiki raised an eyebrow, turning back to the game. Satoshi certainly wasn't what you called 'Bad Ass' these days, in fact that was more like him to be honest!

"Maybe it's just a bad habbit of mine, teasing you!"

"Yeah! Talking about bad habbits, I haven't seen you smoke in ages man!"

"I've quit," admitted Yoshiki kind of proudly "I stopped ever since I met Ayumi."

"Damn you've got it bad dude..."

"I know, but i just can't resist her! From her thick hair to sprakly eyes, not to mention slight figure..."

"Her figure's nothing compared to Naomi's! I mean have you seen her-"

"Spare me the description..."

"Anyway, that doesn't matter anyway. How's Miki?"

"She's okay I guess..." sighed Yoshiki "I haven't seen her this week. What about Yuka and your parents?"

Satoshi instantly felt bad for asking Yoshiki about his parents and family. But Yoshiki didn't seem bothered, and didn't object to Satoshi talking about his family, so Satoshi went on to answer.

"Parents are fine. Yuka found out about Naomi though, and seems to have suddenly gone all weird!"

"Jealous?"

"Maybe, but she already gets all the attention from my parents! She's starting to go all body concious as well, wishing she looked like Naomi."

"Can't see why. Now Ayumi on the other hand..."

"Yuka's asking if she acts to young for her age, and it makes me feel bad when I tell her she does!"

"Chill man. She's just going through that kinda stage. How old is she now?"

"Almost 15.."

They were nearing the end of the race track, Yoshiki far in the lead. Satoshi was itching to win, and suddenly had a good idea on how to win. It wasn't exactly cheating...! Now what did Yoshiki like the most...

"Yoshiki, is that Ayumi at the door?"

Yoshiki instantly turned to look at the door, momentairly distracted away from the game. Snatching up the oppotunity, Satoshi raced ahead, wondering why Yoshiki hadn't shouted angrilly and turned back to the game yet. That's when he noticed Yoshiki had gotten off of the couch and was walking towards the door.

"Hey Ayumi," he said, opening the door, noticing she was looking rather forlorn. "Satoshi's over, but your welcome too..."

* * *

**Finally, Ayumi found out WITHOUT killing a person and (re)killing a person as well as not putting herself (and Naomi) in danger. A much better way of finding out then in the canon version, don't you think? Leave a review with YOUR opinion on how Ayumi should of found out she was related/her bloodline/the curse/whatever. And hey, no one died ^o^**

**I'd just like to give some credit to spudly777 for suggesting I include the bloodline curse. Thanks!**

**see you soon guys?**


	22. Chapter 22 - Crossways

**Hey guys, were back today for another anticipated chapter! I know I didn't upload yesterday, but I've been super busy and I just wanted the last one to sink in a bit, you know with the unveiling of the curse and what not.  
On other notes, I'm going to be starting a new fanfic soon, since Ends meet only has two more chapters to go! It's going to be based around Ayumi, and she has to cope with all the problems of the modern world; cyber bulling, risky romance, heartbreak, gossip and trying to live up to her own standards. There will be some good stuff, honest, but I'd be really interested if you'd give it a read If I published it! It's going to be a T (fluff, modern world problems and language) and hopefully around 15 chapters long. There might even be as sequel, but we'll see how well the first one goes down shall we? Anyway enough of me ranting, let's get on with the chapter! 彡 彡**

* * *

"Thanks Yoshiki..." Ayumi said with a shiver, wrapping her arms around Yoshiki. Earlier she hadn't been so bothered by the curse, but the truth gradually dawned on her as she rushed off to Yoshiki's flat. She thought that maybe all the things that had happened in heavenly host were going to be it for spooky spirit things, but oh no, her entire bloodline was now cursed. What? Could it really be true that if she married and had children, her spouse would die? Breaking away from his embrace, she spotted Satoshi sat watching from the couch, so quickly wiped her damp face to avoid any embarrassment. However Satoshi didn't seem to be bothered by her unexpected appearance, and greeted her with his easy smile. Smiling in return, She walked over to the small tiled bathroom, not expecting Yoshiki to stop her. He didn't, since Ayumi practically lived with him half the time, so she knew where everything was if she needed anything. Satoshi picked up his controller, selecting his favourite race (even though he was bad at it) and beckoning Yoshiki back over to play.  
"One last game, mate?"  
"Sure!"  
Yoshiki had no idea why Ayumi had unexpectedly arrived at his house; she hadn't texted him about it, and they certainly hadn't arranged it. However, Satoshi had to get back to a family meal in half an hour, and company was always appreciated by Yoshiki, especially if it was Ayumi! He really wanted to ask her, but it would be just rude to push Satoshi away.

Ayumi closed the door carefully, and tip toed across the small room towards the sink. Peering into the mirror, she realised how tired she suddenly looked. She had soot grey bags under her eyes and her tied back hair was disheveled and drooping at her shoulders. Maybe she was working a little too hard at her project, and needed to take a break like Satoshi seemed to be doing. In all honestly she hadn't been that bothered with him cancelling his spirit meetings, since she knew there wasn't much he, her or even Hinoe could do in that situation. Anyway, it was pointless for her to carry on with her family tree project, now that she had learnt about the bloodline curse, it would just make her more curious and she'd probably get into trouble one way or another. Maybe she should just forget about it for awhile, and spend more time with her friends and of course Yoshiki in particular. Splashing icy cold water on her face, she heard Satoshi's cries of defeat as Yoshiki beat him in yet another race, and heard them talking as they neared the door of his flat. Satoshi being there hadn't really annoyed her, since she wasn't even meant to come over today, but she felt more comfortable alone with just Yoshiki. Without even knocking, Yoshiki entered the room, a concerned look on his handsome face.  
"Sorry about that..." he said, closing the door behind him, "I didn't think you were coming over today!"  
"Sorry I came unaccounted for. I just needed to be with you today."  
"That's why I'm here isn't it?" he replied with a slight laugh, walking up to her. "Now what's on your mind?"  
Ayumi smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling safe and secure in his arms. Either way, she needed to tell someone about the curse; she just couldn't contain the confusion and distress much longer. She knew it was bad to bottle up her feelings, Hinoe would often tell her this during heartfelt conversations, most they had had when she was a bit more young and naïve.l  
"Well," she stammered, with slight hesitation "My sister came and told me something really... upsetting today."  
"Really?"  
"Yeah, but I don't think you'd understand Yosh."  
"Huh. Well I trust your judgement, but if there's anything you want to talk to me about, you can feel free to get it off your chest."  
She gazed at him, softly stroking his slanted cheek bones, thinking how caring he was without being nosey or overprotective.  
"You do know what I want to get off my chest though..."  
"Eh? What's the time anyway?" Yoshiki turned to the clock at her end of the room, realising that it was still late afternoon, and they had time to go out it Ayumi wished to.  
"It's a bit cloudy..."  
"Your just as observant as ever, Ayumi!" he laughed with raised eyebrows, "How about we go see that movie that you were looking forward to in the cinema?"  
Ayumi nodded, rewarding him with a quick peck on the lips. Even Yoshiki was trying his best to distract her from her problems, even though he didn't know part of it involved him. She really needed to confide in him at some point, and at that moment, she just decided that she couldn't keep it in much longer.  
"Before we go... I just think I should tell you why I'm a bit stressed."  
Yoshiki frowned as she looked at the floor in a downcast manner.  
"Alright, but let's get going; you can tell me on the way, Okay?"  
Ayumi nodded, though. a little disappointed, and took his hand as they neared the door of his flat. She wondered how he'd react, would he be shocked, would he be confused, or would he not care in the slightest? After all they were both still young, and maybe Yoshiki hadn't even planned his life so far. Would he be put of knowing that if he wanted to end up with Ayumi, he could die? She shook her head, still grasping his hand, not wanting her mind to wonder off again.  
"So I was wondering..." began Yoshiki with a small peach blush emerging on his cheeks. "If you wanted to maybe move in with me? I mean it's totally okay if you don't I mean we've only been together for a few months and stuff and your parents might not approve and-"  
"Calm down!" she ordered, partly to shut him up and partly to stop herself from stressing out.  
"Uh...sorry. Maybe you need time to think about it."  
"I want to, it's just..." Ayumi's voice trailed off at this point. Of course she wanted to move in with Yoshiki, she hardly saw her parents and Yoshiki's flat felt so much more like home to her. Just imagine, her own little flat with her boyfriend, away from strict parents and nosey parents, she could be so free...Ayumi was coming up with a thousand fantasies in her head, but the curse kept coming up, making her seriously doubt herself. Would she risk it? They weren't exactly going to get married at 17, so she decided it wouldn't be to bad.  
"Just what?" he asked, slightly coldly, putting his hands back in his pockets and staring at the pavement as they walked.  
"...Nothing. I'll have to ask my parents though."  
"Is that a yes?"  
"Well I can't promise it!"  
They joined hands again with a shy exchange of smiles, before entering the big cinema entrance. It was fairly quiet, with the odd group of teenagers and young families seemed please with the result, it had gone down better than he thought. Finally he was going to have some company, every day of the near future, someone to talk to and keep him warm. Plus Ayumi would most likely insist that she would pay some of the bills, and that would benefit him greatly. But Ayumi couldn't help feeling a bad feeling at the bottom pit of her stomach. It was a bizarre feeling, not of dread, but of the unknown.  
Had she made the right choice?

* * *

**Has she?  
P.S Bittersweet hit 100 reviews today. (!)  
I can't quite believe it. 100! Whaaaaaaat! This was my first ever fanfic, and I know usually it takes a few stories to get out there, so I'm actually quite stunned how much you guys like it! Aw it just feels so great and hopefully this is the start of a lot of stories that will hopefully be as reviewed as much as this! Aaah I'm so, so happy! Tomorrow just as an extra treat I'll make it a longer chapter, I know this one is short but I wrote this before we hit 100 so you'll have to forgive me. THANK YOU ALL I COULD NOT OF REACHED THIS MILESTONE WITHOUT YOU xxx ───Ｏ（≧∇≦）Ｏ──── **


	23. Chapter 23 - Maybe

**Hey guys, thanks for leaving a ton of lovely reviews for last chapter! I read all of them **(**even the really long ones *cough* Spud *cough* ^o^  
Remember I take all reviews in consideration so if you have suggestions do leave them! So here's another chapter today, hopefully a bit longer then usual I suppose just for you guys for being awesome and it's been really rainy today (woo wales) so I had plenty to do today! Enjoy (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ**

* * *

"That was really great, thanks for taking me out Yosh." thanked Ayumi gratefully, knowing how he detested mystery films and much preferred action films to that. But there was just such a grasp the genre had on Ayumi, making her really think deep about every single prospect, wanting to know it all. This film in particular she had enjoyed the most. It was about an adopted girl who was searching for her birth parents, but had encountered many obstacles along the way. There was a sickening twist that her adoptive parents had bought her off a kidnapper, paying a large sum of money, and the troubled girl found herself questioning if her adoptive parents were criminals after all. It ended on a huge cliffhanger, when the truth dawned on the girl, but her innocent adoptive parents were already imprisoned. She couldn't wait for the sequel to come out, and she had heard somewhere that if that one was successful, they'd even make a third film based on it. It was true, Yoshiki hadn't really paid much attention to the film, his eyes has mostly been on Ayumi, marvelling at how she got so engrossed in the film, squealing at scary parts and tutting whenever a character did anything wrong, just like it real life. To be honest, it actually amused him greatly, enough to fill the hour and a half that the film lasted for. The time was now around early evening, so they had decided to club together the rest of their money to eat quickly in a café. Ayumi asked if she could go into the posh French café down the road, but Yoshiki had refused after seeing two pretty girls Ayumi didn't know in it, and had ushered her into a different one.  
"Who were they?" she asked with a pout, ordering a drink and food quickly.  
"Uh, no one. I just think I've met them before and I didn't want it to be awkward, you know how it is right?"  
In all reality Yoshiki had been shocked immensely by the appearance on the two girls. He was sure that he had seen them looking for Ayumi in Heavenly host; there was no doubt about that, but how on earth had they escaped? He hadn't seen them trail behind at all, maybe it was just in his imagination? However he found that anything was possible now...  
Ayumi just sighed, letting the matter go. It wasn't really much of a deal anyway, maybe Yoshiki just wanted to avoid a conversation. Maybe they were exes of his...  
"So," Yoshiki began, clearing his throat. "Did the film cheer you up?"  
"I suppose..." Ayumi replied, wishing he hadn't asked her that because it just made her feel worried again and the distraction would just ware off. Yoshiki looked at her conflicted eyes, and reached for her hand across the table, looking equally as concerned.  
"Hey. It's still on your mind isn't it? Please tell me if it's upsetting you, because if it upsets you, it upsets me too."  
Instantly feeling bad, Ayumi decided not to keep it to herself anymore. After all she was going to have to tell him one day soon, so why not now whilst he was looking so sweet and caring.  
"Okay I'll tell you. But you must promise not to freak out, doubt me or tell me I'm being stupid."  
"I would never-"  
"Promise?"  
He nodded, smiling warmly at her. He had no idea what she was about to say but it obviously wasn't going to be a good or happy thing.  
"Hinoe told me the Shinozaki bloodline is cursed."  
"Sounds normal with your family," joked Yoshiki, making Ayumi frown, "Uh, sorry carry on."  
"It's like this basically. Males are adopted into my bloodline just to keep it pure and gifted. So when I marry the man I love, and we have a child, he will die several years later from the curse, just to keep the whole gifted bloodline pure. I mean gifted like, with the spirits and stuff."  
"That doesn't make sense. As far as I know your fathers alive, and you've got a blood sister."  
"That's because my dad was the Shinozaki in the family, the first male heir. But my mother Is alive too, so I guess it's only with the daughters because we're gifted. As far a I know my father knows next to nothing about spirits."  
"Right. That's so sexist I mean, all the males can keep their spouse but not the females?"  
"That's because they're not gifted."  
"Oh.."  
Yoshiki didn't really know how to respond to her news. A curse was always bad, but this one was just too cruel. He was also a little bit curious, since he had literally just asked her to move in, however it was entirely possibly that she just end wanted to confide in him or thought that she should tell him. Either way, he made sure he picked his words carefully so he sounded supportive as he was.  
"Er, you aren't going to go off me are you Yosh?" she asked worriedly, looking into his sharp eyes. They softened at her words, making Ayumi's heart rate speed up just a little bit.  
"Of course not, I mean, why would I, but I wasn't planning anything..."  
Ayumi found herself blushing awkwardly, of course Yoshiki hadn't been planning anything, so the curse wouldn't really worry him much. It probably looked like she was overreacting slightly, for the curse might of ended with her father, but she was in doubt of that theory, since Hinoe would of mentioned that anyway.  
"I'm sorry, I knew it wouldn't really bother you much."  
"What? Don't be like that Ayumi, I do care, and the way it's putting you now, we need to do something about it. You can't life life with enjoyment if this is always on your mind!"  
Ayumi's creased face turned into a broad smile, making Yoshiki feel slightly more at ease, knowing that he had said something right since he wasn't that good at comforting people.  
"I'm so glad you understand," Ayumi said "I just wish that there was a way to break the curse, it's just not fair!"  
"Its okay you know! You'll find someone who knows about your family, even more than Hinoe does, and you'll sort it."  
Some one who knew more about her family then Hinoe did...only one name sprung to mind, a name that she knew would help, even just a little bit.  
"Thanks Yoshiki!" She said with shining eyes. "You've made me feel so much better about it. I must stay positive."  
"That's my girl."  
The rest of the evening was fairly pleasant, they didn't mention the curse at all again, much to Ayumi's relief. She had a lot to think about, but she was sure on one thing, she couldn't rest on her 'little prodject', she had to keep going with it, especially now she was aware if the curse. Yoshiki was sweet to her the whole night, even paying most of the bill of with his own money just to please her. She kept telling herself how lucky she was to have Yoshiki, and how much she wanted to stay that way with him forever. There was just one person she needed to see now.  
Ai Mikuni.

* * *

"Seiko..."  
It was early morning and Naomi was having another day where she was remembering Seiko and reliving her method of death. She'd wake up constantly, in a cold sweat, screaming for Seiko and sobbing loudly both in her sleep and when she was aware. Naomi couldn't help it, she was still angry, frustrated and confused. Her mother had given up on counselling and therapist, so just relied on distractions like her friends or fun activities Naomi enjoyed. She knew she was feeling quite rough this morning, and decided to actually tell Naomi the secret that she had been keeping for an especially bad day. A few months back, she had bookedNaomi in for a nursing course after school at St Cross Girls school. It did specialise in drama, but it offered several other opportunities for experience in other areas of subjects. Her mother also knew her ambition to be a nurse, so she thought the three week course would be perfect to convince her not to give up on life and help her reach her dream. Quietly, she crept up to her room, a floral tray containing Naomi's favourite Sunday breakfast consisting of croissants with Nutella. Her heart practically broke every time she heard her daughter sob, so she tried her very best to console her the best that she could possibly do.  
"Naomi, dear, I've bought news...and croissants!"  
Naomi sniffed, padding over to the door and opening it, letting her mother in without protest. She did know that sometimes she could be a little harsh to her mother, but that was only when her frustration got the very better of her. Hopping back to bed, she watched as her kindly mother sat on the edge of the bed and handed the tray to her. As she glanced at the contents, a small ghost of a small flickered on her pale lips.  
"What's the news then?"  
Taken aback by Naomi's sudden interest, her mother went ahead and told her about the course.  
"I know how much you want to be a nurse, or at least work with medicine. So to cheer you up, I've booked you in for a nursing course at St Cross girls school for three weeks!"  
Naomi stared at her mother with a gaping mouth. Her mother had gone out of her way to do that just for her, knowing that it would make her happy?  
"...That's really great mum. But isn't that school famous for specialising in drama though?"  
"Yes. Do you still want to do it? I mean, I can always drop you out..."  
"No. I want to do it. I'm so pleased, I'm gonna do it for you, for a Satoshi, even for Seiko!"  
Naomi's mother pursed her lip at the mention of Seiko, but dropped it in order to not dampen the good mood that Naomi had. Seeing this, Naomi hugged her mother lovingly, for what seemed like the first time in forever.  
"I love you mum! I'm sorry if I've been a bit irrational lately, it's just so hard!" Naomi admitted, feeling awful now.  
"No it's my fault! I should of listened more to you instead of of scaring you with those therapists and stuff, I'm sorry too, and I love you too!"  
As they embraced, Naomi realised just how much she loved her mother and just how much they needed each other in their lives. Maybe her mother would accept the events with Seiko, and Naomi would be controlled less by her emotions like before. Now she had her mother, Satoshi and she was even bonding more with Ayumi these days, and her life wasn't perfect, but it was definitely getting better as far as she was concerned. Her mother left the room with a slight spring in her step, leaving Naomi to eat her specially made breakfast in silent peace by herself.  
"Seiko!" she called out, into the empty space in her room. "I hope your proud of me now. I miss you like crazy, but I'm forever going to be living for you, and you alone, no matter what mother or any stupid therapist says!"  
With a light feeling in her uplifted heart, she grabbed a piece of blank notebook appear form the dressing table by her bed and picked up a biro also by it.

* * *

To Seiko!  
I know your somewhere out there, crazy girl, even if you never existed or aren't real, but I just want to let you know I'm doing great. People think I'm mental, but they never met you after all! You were funny, friendly, even slightly perverted, no one can disagree with me on that note! I'm going to go ahead and take that course and achieve my dream, of becoming a nurse and helping others! Even if your going to be trapped in heavenly host forever, you'll know I'm living for you, since part of you will always be stuck inside my heart, forever and always, even if some of that space is reserved for Satoshi (yes we're finally dating!) and mum. Life isn't so bad, I miss your company but Ayumi isn't so bad really, in fact we're becoming closer (don't worry, you'll always be closer than her). Give my regards to Mayu and Morishige if you get this. Well you might not get this in person, but our hearts are of course connected, so you'll feel it anyway.  
Yours truly, your best friend forever (no matter what)  
Naomi xxxx

* * *

Walking over to the window, Naomi folded the paper several ways until it had taken the form of a paper aeroplane. She drew the curtains and gazed outside, opening the window and sticking her head outside. It was sunny, but there was a brisk wind in the air, perfect for plane flying. Naomi grasped the plane with her thumb and finger, and pulled it back to her chin, smiling as she recalled the happy message she had written in it with her best sparkly gel pens. Then she threw it out, watching as it slowly shrunk in size, and faded into nothing but a little white dot.  
It would reach her, Naomi told herself. Maybe.

* * *

**I'm sure it will Naomi...Maybe xD**


	24. Chapter 24 - (false) Alarm!

**hiya, back with another chapter.**

**we'll be reaching the peak of the story very very soon so watch out for this space!**

* * *

"Everyone please, get your history text books out on the page you did your homework on."  
Ayumi rummaged around in her bag and pulled out the neat book, flicking it open onto the page next to the family tree example. As the teacher walked along the various aisles collecting the books to mark, a rising panic suddenly erupted inside her. She had spent all of her spare time that she would usually spend studying, researching her bloodline and staying at Yoshiki's, so she hadn't got round to actually doing it. She has never ever forgotten to do homework in her entire life, through elementary, middle and high school.  
"Shinozaki, your book please?" asked the history teacher, promptly holding out his hand. A cold sweat broke out on her forehead, and this was noticed by the two girls at the back who always tormented her.  
"I..."  
"Ooh, what's wrong Shinozaki? Did you forget to do it?" laughed the taller one, producing a ripple of tuts and mocking laughs across the classroom from the other students.  
"I did! I just didn't write it down!"  
"Yeah right!" the other one sneered. "You were probably too busy snogging Kishinuma, he's probably put a bad influence on you!" Shame..."  
"Hey!"  
"Shhh!" boomed the teacher, silencing every voice that had echoed in the room. "Shinozaki, I'd appreciate it if you brought it to my desk tomorrow morning before break, or it will be a detention."  
"Ooh, smarty Shinozaki just got served!"  
"Haha, has she gone bad in the head? I think your time of being top of the class is over, maybe you'll give us a chance!"  
Someone threw a sharp pencil at her, making her flinch slightly even though it didn't hurt her much. The boys started jeering at her reaction, making her wish that she could sink away into the floor,  
"Doesn't look like she's gonna be the perfect class rep anymore!"  
"Yurikau I'd appreciate it if you were quiet now and let me get on with my lesson."  
"So sorry sir..."  
"Good. Everyone please continue to work through the sheet that we left off last week, and the next one if you manage to finish. Shinozaki, please can you step out of the room for a minute?"  
A few sounds that might of been mocks went around the room, but were quickly silenced by a girl who was deputy rep for the year, who honestly felt bad for everyone humiliating Ayumi so crudely like that.  
"But, sir..." she protested, scraping her chair back with a wincing noise. The teacher, pointed at the door, so she gathered her stuff with a sigh and left the class room. Was he going to give her a detention already? She knew she rarely missed her homework deadline but why after once, when so many others had missed it loads of times and gotten away with out a punishment. However the teacher looked at her with kind eyes, making her feel more a ease.  
"Shinozaki, why don't you take the the rest of this lesson off and complete it in the study area?"  
"But sir..."  
"Don't worry, I can tell your tense and the girls back in class weren't being particularly nice before were they. Has this happened before?"  
"Only once, but it was only Yurikau and her friend..."  
"If it persists and they get a bit rougher, you can always come to me you know. It's not right, and it could develop into something more."  
"Thanks sir, but I really don't want to miss work!"  
"Haha, don't be concerned, I'll be sure to give you an overload tomorrow for you to work on. The section they are covering today is too easy and you wouldn't enjoy it."  
For a few moments, Ayumi wondered whether she should tell him about her family findings, but decided not to after all.  
"I better go then, sir. Thanks again."  
"No problem!" He called as she left, turning back into the classroom. He could see the two girls gossiping in the back and shook his head disapprovingly. He himself had been discriminated against in school, and even though Ayumi wasn't being treated that badly, they were still being mean to her. He really needed to keep a good eye on them, before they did anything out of hand.  
Meanwhile Ayumi was in the cafè, sipping a mocha latte, deep in thought. She had already mapped up her basic family tree, with her parents, grandparents and great grandparents as well as various aunts and distant cousins. Although she knew where Sachiko would lie in the tree, she didn't add her on and stopped before it got to distant in order to avoid her and Yoshie. She glanced around the small school café, wondering what lessons Yoshiki, Naomi and Satoshi would be currently in. Although she had walked to school with Yoshiki, she hadn't seen him all day, and presumed he was still in class since it hadn't even been lunch yet. As she packed her stuff, she noticed that a dark shadows had been cast across where she was sitting. It was the girl from earlier with the sure name Yurikau, with the sneering face and dull expressionless eyes.  
"Looks like 'sir' has got a favourite!"  
Ayumi glared at her, slinging her school bag over her shoulder, cursing under her breath. What did she want with her now?"  
"Leave me alone! I have to get to math..."  
"Shut up! Your the reason I just got kicked out of class, and it put a stain on my reputation!"  
"How was it my fault?" questioned Ayumi, trying to back away, but the girl had her cornered in the booth where Ayumi had been sitting.  
"All I did was poke a bit of fun out of you behind your back and mess around in class. He really has it in for me and Mikua."  
"Hardly. You got yourself into trouble!" Ayumi retorted, trying to writhe free from the tight grasp the girl now had on her wrist.  
"I won't let you off so easily," she warned, twisting Ayumi's wrist menacingly. "I'm so sick of losers like you having the favour, I want the spot light all for myself!"  
Ayumi gasped in sudden pain as she dug her nails into her wrist, ripping off the top layer of skin with ease.  
"Please, I need to go..."  
"Nauyia! Get off her!" came the voice of one of the registrars. She was short and stocky, a bit like Nauyia herself, and it suddenly dawned on her that they must have some relation to each other. She was right.  
"Who's that Yurikau?" Ayumi asked, as Nauyia loosened her grip on her and glared in the direction of the woman.  
"No one..."  
"Goodness sake, have you been kicked out of a lesson? And you have a detention after school today too! I'm sorry dear if she's been bothering you, my daughter can be very misguided!"  
Nauyia rolled her eyes, letting go completely of of Ayumi, but still facing her.  
"Tell anyone," she said, quietly right by her face. "And your dead."  
She stormed off, her mother giving Ayumi a sympathetic look as she returned behind the counter to serve another customer. She was aware her wrist was bleeding slightly, but she ignored it and rushed out of the café in the direction of the maths department, hoping she wasn't going to be late for yet another lesson.

* * *

"That's really great Naomi!"

Satoshi and Naomi were walking to maths, a lesson that they shared with Ayumi and Yoshiki, so they both looked forward to gathering all together in one class. Plus lunch was straight after, so they could all walk together without worrying about getting seats by each other. Naomi had just been telling her boyfriend about the nursing course her mother had booked her in, and Satoshi was being really supportive towards her, even though he would miss her most days after school for the three weeks it lasted. They were at the class room in seconds, and met Yoshiki, who was leaning casually against the door, clearly waiting for Ayumi.  
"Hey man you ok?" greeted Satoshi, brofisting him.  
"Good yeah. Seen Ayumi?"  
"She's usually first here for lessons..." commented Naomi with a slight frown.  
"Oh she was kicked out!" put in a short girl with a slight sneer. "Forgot her history homework. Teacher sent her away."  
"I highly doubt that," countered Yoshiki, protective over Ayumi. "She's always got it on time!"  
"Not today." said a boy, joining the conversation. "I heard that she got kicked out with Yurikau, you know that girl from 2-8 who's always getting into trouble!"  
"No way!" shouted Naomi, who knew the girl from middle school. "Ayumi would never mix with a type like that!"  
"You never know!" said the short girl with raised eyebrows, before suddenly looking shocked and walking away.  
"That's ridiculous..." muttered Satoshi under his breath. By now the other boy had moved away, and an awkward silence settled amongst them.  
"Were you guys...talking about me behind my back?" came Ayumi's quiet voice, with a hurt air to it.  
"No."  
"Of course not!"  
"We were just diminishing stupid rumours spread about you!" insisted Yoshiki, snaking an arm around her waist reassuringly.  
"Oh..."  
The teacher appeared hastily, apologising for being late, before opening the door and letting the quiet students into the class room. Not wanting to cause more fuss, Ayumi got out her stuff quickly, her pencil case, maths book and calculator. Well, she should of got out her calculator, but it was missing from her bag. Frowning in annoyance, she came to the conclusion that she had stupidly left it at home, and scolded herself not to do it again. She really needed to concentrate more, taking a break like Satoshi was clearly not working for her at all. The hour went by quite quickly, the sums were not difficult, and no one in this class seemed to give her a hard time especially now that she had Yoshiki close to her. The bell went off with a loud clang, making Ayumi relieved for she was hungry and feeling the need for fresh air. But after a few seconds of it ringing, she realised this wasn't the normal lunch bell, it was the fire alarm, whirring loudly above them. Panic arised in the class room, since they were usually told if they were going to have a practice run through at the start of their first lesson. The teacher, though unnerved, told everyone to calm down and form a line alphabetically behind the door, to speed up the process of them leaving the building. They passed by several lines of startled looking students, however there was no smoke or screaming people to be heard anywhere. Anyway, a few minutes later, the whole school had gathered in jumbled lines, each teacher taking the register promptly with calm tones. Once everyone was conformed present, the students, and not to mention teachers started chatting amongst themselves. Ayumi tuned out of the relieved chatters of the students, and listened to the teachers stood a few feet away.  
"...did you hear about the three schools torched down?"  
"..pupils, three of them..."  
"I was so...that he didn't ...our school!"  
"...think...come to us next?"  
"Who set off the alarm? ...sick...!"  
What were they talking about? Ayumi dug in her memory for cases of schools being burnt down near by, and surprisingly, there were in fact three recent cases. The police suspected that they were linked, but they were a while away from Kisaragi so she didn't really worry about it. Several pupils had seen a giant man wielding a fire torch, flailing his arms around crazily. What if he did find Kisaragi? That would be just terrible...  
The principal cleared his throat, causing everyone to turn to him with their attention.  
"False Alarm!" he called out, sounding relieved like everyone else. "It appears it was a technical fault, but if anyone set it off purposely, if they come forward now their punishment will not be so severe."  
Ayumi looked around. No one stepped forward.  
"Fine. I think we will have to examine the building just incase, so I'm asking for no one to return to the school grounds untill the cause of the alarm going off has been found."  
Several teachers exchanged concerned glances, clearly thinking about the cases of the other schools burning down.  
"But sir, I left all my stuff in my classroom!" moaned a girl, making everyone stare at her.  
"We will put everything out in the assembly hall tomorrow. For those of you who need your keys we will call your parents and see if they can collect you."  
Yoshiki turned around to Ayumi, throwing her a questioning glance. She shrugged in return, just as the principal dismissed everyone.  
She was going to do an awful lot of thinking tonight...

* * *

**_Who is this crazy man? Will Kisaragi burn down, or perhaps a... Familiar school? Will Nauyia keep on bothering AyumI until its full blown Bullying? _**

**_On another note_**

**_How will Naomi's course start in St cross girls school? Will she meet some familiar people? Will her letter reach Seiko?_**

**_SORRY YOULL HAVE TO WAIT_**

**_A DAY ! (!)_**

**_GoodKnight_**

**_(see what I did there? No? You'll find out soon...)_**


	25. Chapter 25 - Real this time

**Bittersweet chapter 25**

**Hiya guys, sorry for not uploading yesterday!  
I was packing for my holiday in Egypt tomorrow. Oh no! Don't worry, there is wifi, and the plane journey is super long so I can probably write a few chapters on the way.  
Ps, my new story, Modern Girl is up! Go check it out:  
Here's the next chapter anyway...?**

* * *

After all the panic of the false fire at school, Naomi had hurried home without Satoshi, since he had to wait around for his mother to pick him up because he had left his keys in school bag. Luckily for Naomi, her mother was home, and although surprised at her early arrival, was nonetheless pleased that she could spend a little more time with her until it was time for her course at St cross girls school. They were both super excited, and Naomi had quickly gotten changed (no uniform was required for the after school course), ready to go when the time was right. She quickly texted Ayumi, sympathising with the early bulling Ayumi seemed to be receiving and offering her advice and comfort. Of course Ayumi also wished her well with the nursing course, but was too wrapped up in her own bothering troubles to say much to her, which Naomi didn't really mind too much. After a quick snack, they jumped into the car, all ready to go and thankfully on time. Her mother played Naomi's favourite songs on the CD player just to make her happy, and it did work a treat. Naomi seemed to still long distant, but more wistful then sad anyway, which was a good improvement in her mothers opinion. The well being of her only daughter mattered to her more than anything in the whole world! It wasn't long until they reached the winding road that lead to the well renowned school, leading into a small carport behind the large building. As it came into view, Naomi definitely sensed a vintage feel to the whole block, putting her slightly at ease, if anything. Her mother parked up briskly, glancing at her daughter who was staring outside eagerly.  
"Do you want me to come?" asked her mother, giving Naomi the bag they had packed earlier, with all the various forms and stuff needed for the course.  
"I'll be fine," Naomi replied firmly, getting out of the car. If she was going to succeed in the course, then she would have to be more independent.  
"Alright dear. Text me if you need me!"  
Naomi hopped out of the car, waving to her anxious mother as she drove back down the path and far away. She then turned her attention back to the building, in awe of the size of it and the style of the architecture. Strolling down the path towards the entrance, she noted the large outdoor theatre, looking like it almost came from roman times, and the pretty park almost as nice as the one at Kisiragi. Naomi came up the the large door, reading a direction sign put out for new course takers.  
"Please proceed to the main reception if you are not a pupil at Saint Cross Girls School, and have taken one of these courses:  
Animal Biology  
Nursing  
Team Management  
Public Speaking  
Drama  
Performing arts  
Design Technology  
Information technology.  
Please remember to have your application sheets ready to hand over when asked. Thank you!"  
"Huh..." Naomi mumbled to herself. "They specialise in drama, but they are clearly keeping more for a wider range of pupils..."  
"That's right. Are you taking a course?"  
Naomi turned behind her to see a small girl with purple hair, sparkly green eyes and a huge beam spread across her little face.  
"Uh, yeah..."  
"Ok, I thought so." The girl opened the door, revealing a cosy reception room with two wp desks and some seats scattered the room. "You need to go to that desk..."  
"Uh, thanks."  
"I'm Ran, by the way."  
"Shouldn't I call you by your last name?"  
"That's protocol but I'm much more laid back to be honest! Which course are you taking?"  
"Nursing. Just to say I'm Naomi Nakashima."  
"Right...hang on a second..."  
Naomi suddenly noticed that Ran was gazing adorably at her chest, her cheeks glowing bright pink with what seemed like, awe.  
"Uh, Ran?"  
"Mmmm..."  
He mouth was practically watering now, and Naomi was about to back away when she suddenly snapped out of it.  
"No, no Ran, what about your lovely Wife?"  
"Huh?"  
"I'm so sorry, sometimes I just let my...emotions take over me. Got to go. Bye!"  
And with that the purple haired girl ran of, muttering about her 'wife'. What on earth was she talking about? Was everyone here just as crazy? As she walked over to the main reception, she couldn't help thinking that Ran reminded her of Seiko a lot, with their shared peverted personalities and constant blabbers of gibberish. They would of got on if they had met. The woman at the desk silently took her forms, not making small talk, which Naomi was quite thankful for. She was shy around people she didn't know, so doing this was quite a big thing for her. The woman pointed to another sign before turning back to her computer with a bored sigh. Naomi read it quickly, advancing to the room stated for nursing. As soon as she entered she felt excited, as there was all the special equipment laid out ready, and the tutor standing at the front of the room looked young, fresh and nice. She hurried in next to another girl whose steel grey eyes were fixed hard on the tutor at the front.  
"Right, now for the introduction since your all here. Welcome to your first nursing session, which will be the first of many you will take during the length of this course. Firstly we will take the register, and then you will give me the test you were asked to fill out before coming today." the tutor at the front explained, the eyes of the girl sitting next to Naomi perking up.  
"What's it for, sir?"  
"It's just to determine where everyone is in the subject. It doesn't really matter it's just there to help you. Any more questions?"  
No hands were raised, so he quickly got the register up on the interactive whiteboard and began calling the names out loudly. Naomi was around, halfway through the whole register.  
"Naekio?"  
"Here!"  
"Nakano?"  
"Present."  
"Nakashima?"  
"Here, sir."  
After he had ran through the thirty or so names on the list, he handed a booklet on the basics of nursing, about three centre metres thick.  
"You'll need this to take home with you, and I want you to read at least to chapter 3 for the next session."  
Scribbling the deadline down, Naomi took a good look around the bright and airy room. Of course it was only girls, and they all looked incredibly focused, just like Ayumi in a History lesson. The tutor started handing out a worksheet on patients, mostly stating what to do around them and not to do near them, nursing rules. Naomi knew she would find this part quite easy, since she had no objection to any rules and was very good at keeping them. In fact, she was often praised in elementary school and middle school for being so well behaved! She was right of course, the sheet was easy to follow, they just had to watch a clip on the topic and fill in the blanks at the top of the page. Kids work.  
"I know it may seem easy to you now, but the work will get more challenging. We'll be doing practical work as well, so look out for that."  
A chatter broke out across the room, making Naomi really realise that everyone seemed to know each other, and she was, well, kind of a loner.  
"So everyone, that was a short session, but they are going to be longer starting from tomorrow. See you later!"  
Everyone was getting ready to leave when Ran of all people rushed into the room they were all in.  
"Sir, sir, I was on my way out when I saw that crazy fire guy with a torch that was on the news! I'm not kidding!"  
The tutor frowned at Ran, wondering whether he should believe her or not. He had heard in the staff room that she was a brilliant actress, almost as good as her best friend 'wife' Azusa, so it could possibly be a prank. Would she joke about something like this? The chatter was replaced by gasps of fear, since by now most of the closer schools had heard about the case.  
"Please sir, believe me, I smelt burning too!"  
"I smell burning!" cried the girl next to Naomi, putting a hand on her nose in either feat or disgust.  
"Alright, Ran, I want you to set the fire alarm off and take my class. I will evacuate everyone safely. DO NOT PANIC!"  
The teacher swiftly walked out of the room, smelling burning himself once he had gotton out of the corridor. This was bad.  
"You heard the old man! Follow me kids!"  
"We're just as old as you!" piped out a girl from the back of the line.  
"I don't care, for once, Ran is in charge!  
There were several mutters of protest from the group, but eventually they all gave up and followed the slightly shorter girl into corridor upon corridor, until some were convinced she had gotten them lost.  
"Hmm...did we pass the auditorium?"  
"HELP, WE'RE ALL GONNA DIIIIIIIEEE!" screamed a tall girl with a panicked expression on her face.  
"Ran, I can really feel heat from something now. We need to find a fire exist!"  
Naomi could hear panicked voices everywhere, amongst the sounds of wailing ambulances and ordering teachers. Ran couldn't take her eyes off the burning auditorium, so upset that her favourite place in the world was burning to a crisp. She was unmovable, so a scared Naomi boldly took charge of the situation. She glanced round, desperately looking for a fire exit, finally finding one just north of the burning corridor.  
"This way guys!" she shouted over the squeals, and legged it down the corridor, careful not to catch herself in the flames. She was so close to the exit, and she could see the sea of people following her, and she suddenly felt very pressurised. Smoke was filling her sight, quicker than ever, making her choke on the air that she managed to get through her lungs. The green glow of the exit was so close, she could almost grab it...

* * *

**Some of you got it, and most of you will now know the two new characters joining bittersweet. The first clue was the whole nursing course in their school, the second was when Yoshiki recognised them, and the third in GoodKnight.**

**prepare for more action soon!**

**P**!


	26. Chapter 26 - Ran Away

Bittersweet chapter 26

Still in Egypt got to go bye

* * *

Ayumi was slumped against Yoshiki's broad chest, having once again retreated to his flat instead of just going home. She had poured out all her feelings and worries to him from the day, and he had given her more comfort them she could even imagine. They were sat on the couch now, bored,watching the news. Yoshiki was about to change the channel to something more, when Ayumi grabbed his wrist to stop him. He glanced at his girlfriend, whose eyes were glued onto the screen, so he turned to look at what was so interesting. It was still the news, but the breaking news theme echoed around the room as a reporter hurriedly skipped to the headlines.

"Saint Cross Girls school is buring down, after an alleged attack by the insane man dubbed 'Crazy Torched Giant' who had targeted other schools in the area. We a currently getting information from the police at this time, but we believe that thirty children are not accounted for. Our reporter is at the scene now."

"Oh god!" exclaimed Yoshiki, remembering the crazy man Ayumi had talked to him about. "Why does that school sound familiar?"

"Naomi went there earlier today..." Ayumi suddenly realised, bringing a hand to her gaping mouth. "For that nursing course right?"

"Um, Satoshi might of mentioned it."

"That means she could be in that fire right now!"

The camera switched to the scene, and the once majestic looking entrance was gone and covered in bright orange flames. An urgent looking reporter came into view, behind him a teacher from the school and a serious looking police officer.

"Hi, Kensuke Yamoto here, reporting live from what once was Saint Cross Girls School." He turned to the police officer, shoving the microphone in his hands. "What do we know of the origins of the fire?"

"Well, the 'Crazy Torched Guy' was spotted in the general corridor by two pupils, one of which went to alert the classes, and the other who left the building and called the emergency services. Unfortunately the girl who went to tell the others is still missing."

"Right, are you sending fire fighters in?"

"There are already two separate parties scouring the various parts of the building. Please stay calm, and if you are a parent of any pupils involved in this school today, come here as soon as possible."

"Thank you. That was Sgt. Asami representing the fire and police service here today."

Yoshiki turned to Ayumi, his hand reaching his head in a perplexed way.

"Damn, her mother will be worried..."

"And Satoshi!" added Ayumi with no envy in her nervous voice. "We better call him."

"Good idea, here use my mobile?"

Ayumi grabbed it, quickly typing in his number, which she had memorised whilst she had had a crush on him ages ago. Ayumi answered his panicked voice, knowing now that he had watched it too, obviously.

"Satoshi, don't worry, just wait a bit, they will find her!"

Yoshiki rolled his eyes, getting up. He had had plans in the bedroom for later that evening, and it was probably not going to happen if Ayumi was like this for the rest of the day.

"Ayumi..."

"Ok. Do you want to...SATOSHI? Ugh, he just hung up on me..."

"Never mind, I'm sure he'll cope Ayumi."

"Yeah your right Yosh, there's no need to worry. Sorry if I ignored you slightly.."

"No that's fine," replied Yoshiki softly, totally changing his attitude. "She's your friend, your bound to be scared!"

"Aren't you too?"

"Of course I'm worried for Nakashima, but if it were you then..."

He walked up to her pulling her into his strong arms, gazing, making her blush like so many times before. "I'd run straight into that building and pull you straight out!"

"Like all those times you saved me in heavenly host," she mumbled into his chest. "And I was so oblivious, I never even thanked you!"

"Haha. I never thanked you for saving me the day we met after all!"

"Eh?"

"If it wasn't for you I would of dropped out...then this would never of happened."

Ayumi nodded slowly, remembering that day as a cherished memory, although she never considered it at the time. Thinking about it, Yoshiki probably did. They then kissed passionately for along time, and they were so wrapped up in each other, Yoshiki didn't even notice his phone ringing back on the couch. He wondered if he should of got it, but Ayumi was being so seductive that he couldn't resist, and had to leave it buzzing as she pulled him away.

/

One missed call from:

Azusa

/

"Ugh...my head..."

"Nakashima-San! Thank god!"

Ran was standing over Naomi, a worried expression on her face. She had found her about to pass out earlier, so had dragged her away (not by her chest, although it was very hard to resist) and shook her awake.

"How long have I been out?" asked Naomi groggily, getting up off the singed carpet.

"Not very long. We are still in the building, but i hid us in the basement, so it's not as bad here."

"Thanks Ran, your a good friend."

"Do I get a reward now?" Ran teased, puckering her lips. Naomi wasn't sure is she was joking or not, but quickly stopped her before she made an advance.

"What about your lovely wife? Plus we should really get out of this place."

"Your totally right on both parts! C'mon, there's another emergency exit just up and around the corner."

Ran ran, out of the door, Naomi following closely behind her like a dog following her master. It wasn't long until they were out of the blazing building, and in the safe, open outside ground of the school.

"WIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFEEEEEEEE!"

Suddenly ran caught the eyes of an extremely beautiful girl, but she looked stressed and there were tears streaking her pretty face.

"RAN!"

The two girls embraced, the one Naomi didn't know with her arms around Ran's waist, however Ran's were, unsurprisingly on the girls chest.

"I honestly thought you wouldn't come back, your so brave!" the girl praised Ran happily, although pulling away from Ran's awkward grip.

"I missed my wife sooooooo much!"

Naomi approached the two, feeling slightly out of place, since they reminded her of herself and Seiko, long before they were separated. The pretty girl turned to Naomi with a flashy smile.

"This is my wife, Nakashima. Wife, this is Naomi Nakashima from Kisaragi!" Ran introduced, making Naomi laugh nervously.

"Hiya Naomi. I'm actually called Azusa." Azusa said, frowning ever so slightly at Ran. Sometimes she could be so embarrassing!

"Hello. We should tell the police we're safe."

"Probably. Wait, did you say you were from Kisiragi?"

"Uh-huh..."

"Wife, isn't that Knight-kuns school?"

"Yes it his. I tried to call him earlier to tell him Nakashima was in the fire but he didn't answer."

"Sorry to be nosey, but who is knight-kun?

"Oh, that's just my little pet name for him," explained Azusa, leading them towards the car park where the police were waiting. "I think his name is Kishinuma."

"Yoshiki? How do you know him?"

"My wife had quite a history with Yoshiki-Knight-kun, but it's all over now since she's got me!"

"Ran, what happened between Knight-kun and I...well, it just wasn't like that!"

"Oh wife, your blushing!"

"Huh..?"

But they didn't have time to talk, since the police and press had spotted them and were rushing towards them with microphones. Sensing that Naomi wasn't good with press, Azusa ushered her away and stumbled towards them clutching Ran, putting her Drama skills to good use. Grateful, she slid unnoticed into the crowd, her eyes searching for her mother. Instead of her mother, she spied a pair of chocolate brown eyes, under a mop of disheveled brown hair, staring at her.

"Naomi!" he shouted, waving frantically at his girlfriend, relieved that she hadn't been too badly injured in the fire.

"Satoshi!'

They embraced, heads close together, both breathless and happy to see each other.

"Don't scare me like that again," he whispered, kissing her lightly on the forehead. "I thought I was going to lose you, like before...but for real this time!"

"Don't be stupid, I'd never let that happen!"

They stayed together for what seemed like ages, until Naomi's panicked mother arrived on the scene, pulling her daughter out of Satoshi's arms and into hers, like a protective hen over her precious eggs.

"Mu-um!" complained Naomi, still gazing at Satoshi, who started chuckling, even if he was a bit disappointed that they were cut short.

"Oh Naomi, I'm so glad your safe! We're so unlucky sometimes aren't we darling?"

"Ugh...I guess your right," Naomi managed to choke out, since she was being practically squeezed out like a sponge in her mothers tight arm.

"Nakashima-San, are you good now?"

Ran and Azusa were back on the scene after a long and loud conversation with the press and police, with Azusa explaining the event calmly with Ran adding bits in when she could.

"Uh, yeah thanks Ran."

"Good!" nodded Azusa, smiling a pretty smile at Satoshi, before smiling also at her mother. "I managed to hold of the press from you for a while."

"Thank you so much dear, I would of hated for Naomi to of gotten involved with news coverage and stuff like that!" thanked her mother gratefully.

"That's what we're here for, right wife?"

"Uh, right."

"What are you two going to do?" asked Satoshi, glancing at the firemen who were trying to put out the sunset blaze. "For school, I mean."

"I haven't got so far," Azusa told him, biting her lip. "I really need to talk to my parents."

"No wife, your sleeping over tonight, you can call your parents!"

"Alright..."

"Hey!" Naomi called, suddenly having a slight eureka moment. "Why don't you join our school? We have several pupils, that sadly...but you could come, I'm sure of it!"

"Really?" asked Ran, her eyes lighting up. "That means we'd get to see Knight-kun again, Wife!"

"I'm not sure he'd really want that..."

"Knight-kun?" questioned Satoshi, eying Naomi, a puzzled look in his eyes. Ran was about to elaborate when Naomi's mother butted in.

"Sorry, but me and Naomi have to go. Satoshi, do you need a lift?"

"Yes please Ms Nakashima!"

"Huh? Didn't you come with your parents?"

"No, as soon as the news came on I legged it all the way here, though Shinozaki tried to stop me."

"Oh..." Naomi said, her heart sinking at the mention of Ayumi's name.

"Not that she really said anything. She was snogging Yoshiki half the time!"

"Haha..."

Naomi was glad she had made new friends, and was happy that they could be going to her own school! One person who wasn't pleased about that...

Was Yoshiki, but he didn't know...


	27. Chapter 27 - Brewery

Bittersweet chapter 27

Still still in Egypt.

Ayumi had it all covered. She had taken the address sneakily from Tsukasa, and had done all the necessary preparations for her unprompted meeting with Ai. Although she didn't know what exactly, it was clear that the mysterious woman was very much with the spirits, and knew something about her blood line for sure, otherwise she wouldn't of winced when Ume had introduced her. Ayumi was just desperate for any information that might help with the breaking of her curse, so she could finally live a normal life with out worrying as much as she did now. Yoshiki had been at work all day, skipping school, to make up for the lack of shifts he had attended now that Ayumi had half moved in with him, so he wouldn't stop her. She was free to discover what she willed.

Ai's house was about the size of her own, with authentic decoration lattice work across the stone near the roof. She could see the same glittery black mist coming out of the chimney; most people would think it was smoke from an open fire, but Ayumi knew it was Clèlestial Steam that often seeped out after someone met with spirits or something like that. Hinoe may of mentioned it when showing Ayumi some special spirit involved items a while back. Without hesitation, Ayumi knocked on the tall door with the brass knocker, which was in the shape of phinoex or some sort of mythical bird. There was a rattle at the doorbell, until it was pulled open, by a pair of small and curious hands.

"Oh Miss Shinozaki!" greeted Ume sweetly, leading her into the reception room. "I didn't know you we're coming to play today!"

"I'm sorry, but I've got to speak to Ai today!"

"Mummy?"

"That's right. It's very important, but I promise I'll play another time."

"And Kis...Mr Yoshiki too?"

"I'm sure he'd like to see you again, Mikuni-chan."

Ume giggled, leading Ayumi further into the reception room, towards a slim flight of midnight blue carpeted stairs.

"Mummy spends a lot of time in the Brewery but she doesn't really like to be disturbed."

"Is that where she is?"

"Uh-huh. She's been there all day today..."

"Do you have anyone to play with? Does you father work?"

Ume stuck out her bottom lip, a cloudiness surrounding her usually bright eyes. She shrugged, taking Ayumi up the stairs.

"Daddy died along time ago."

"Oh," Ayumi apologised with a quick hug, before following the small girl past the last few stairs. "I'm sorry to hear that!"

"S'ok." Ume replied quietly, reminding Ayumi of Yoshiki in a small way. 'I was only two. Don't really remember much."

Ayumi nodded understandably, wondering if the Mikuni bloodline had a similar curse, although she couldn't think of a reason for it. They had reached the landing, and Ume pointed to the first door which had a simple plaque nailed onto it.

Brewery.

"Huh. Is this it?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Thanks!"

Ume smiled at her though she still looked a little wistful, and rushed towards a bright lilac door that Ayumi presumed to be the little girls bedroom. She couldn't help feeling sorry for Ume since she looked ever so lonely all by herself all day. As she shook her head in disproval, the door of the 'Brewery' sprung open, inviting her in spookily. Cautiously, she walked into the room, smelling the same whiff of lavender she smelt every time she walked into Hinoe's room, which she hadn't done very recently. Ai was sitting at a desk, scribbling something down furiously on a loose piece of paper.

"I was starting to think you weren't coming Shinozaki." she said, meeting Ayumi's nervous gaze. "But the spirits are never wrong."

"Explain. Why you flinched at my name, Please."

Ai nodded though she looked slightly bored. She pointed to the seat opposite her and made her sit down.

"You do know the curse on your bloodline by now?"

"Yes. Hinoe told me."

"Of course, she was worried was worried about you wasn't she?"

"It doesn't matter. What do you know?"

Ai sighed, putting the paper back in the draw. Ayumi still had so much get to learn in the world of the spirits.

"If your asking me how to break it, search me."

"You must know something!" Ayumi retorted in disbelief. "Is your bloodline cursed too perhaps?"

"No, but my brother nearly messed it up several years ago. Can't trust men."

"Oh yeah? I don't mean to be crude, but what about your husband?"

"All men are the same."

"What happened?"

"He died."

"How?"

"Geez, your just like your sister, super nosey! He messed around with some potentially dangerous spiritual items and accidentally killed himself. It was really sad of course, but there's nothing I could do about it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Your not effected by it."

"Your brother, Tsukasa-"

"Yes unfortunately. I am very fond of him yet he brings me so much trouble. Well he used to."

"What did he do?"

"He met this girl, Shishedo, who's fate was already determined, and almost got himself killed in the process. I don't know the details but her existence just faded one day and he forgot about her."

"Ms Yui..."

"Hmm?"

"Nothing." Ayumi recovered smoothly. "Look, is there anything, even the slightest piece of information that can help me break the curse?"

"Oh you can't do it alone."

"So you do know something then?" Asked Ayumi, smirking at her, which was replied to with a glare.

"Argh, alright fine."

Ai walked over to one of the tall bookshelves, running her pale fingers along the rigid spines, muttering the names to herself as she passed each one. Eventually she picked one out, placing on the table with a thump.

"As I said before, you can't break it alone. You need the help of Kishinuma of course."

"Right. What do we do?"

"Is he aware of the curse?"

"Yes."

"And after that he didn't leave you?"

"No. He said he'd help me any way actually."

"All men are the same." she muttered, turning the yellowed pages to a certain one, the outsides of it inked in green dye.

"The only way to break a bloodline curse,' she explained, "Is to prove that...hang on, let me find the right curse...here we go. That your love is worth a sacrifice."

"Is that all?"

"Nope. There are several spiritual items needed for the ritual; evidence of the doings of the curse, ancestry charts, blah blah blah. It's all listed."

"What's the probability of me...us breaking it."

"No ones done it and survived."

"Well that's just great!" laughed Ayumi sarcastically.

"You were the one who wanted to know Shinozaki."

Ayumi got up, taking the book out of Ai's hands, looking forward to flicking through it later on.

"Good luck. And one more thing."

"What?"

"Yoshikazu. Takamine. The Crazy Torched Guy. Lavender. Okay, time to go, bye bye!"

"No, wait, what?"

"Time to go!"

-–

"Oh Naomi, what are you going to do now?"

Naomi's mother was pacing around the corridor, perplexed after the fire of the school. Everywhere her daughter went, trouble soon followed her, and that scared her senseless. Was there anywhere she could go safely? School was though, so she decided to send her again, even though she would miss out on her highly anticipated nursing course. Of course, Naomi was disappointed, but there were loads of different schools out there with similar courses out there she could go to. Or she could just wait until she finished the half year left and just do it in collage. Time didn't really matter in particular to Naomi.

Her mother kept on apologising, stressing all the time, so Naomi decided to give her some space and slid off to the quiet of her room. Glancing at her clock, she realised how late it was, and rushed over to the window where she could see the skyline. A beautiful sunset sent orange rays everywhere, the sky salmon pink amongst orange and blue. It was really quite stunning. She closed her eyes in the breeze, and felt something hard hit her shoulder, so force her eyes open to see what it was. Looking down, she realised it was a paper aeroplaneye, the same one she had sent to Seiko not that long ago. Curiously, she unfolded the tight paper, only to see it was the same writing she had wrote before. Her heart sank with disappointment, however, she turned it over just in case, and spotted a few lines of Seiko's scrawled handwriting. It was hard to determine what was written, since she couldn't tell what she had used to write it. It was something like "Love you Naomi never forget'

She couldn't believe it. Had her message really reached her, and if so, how? It could just be someone playing a trick on her, but she had believe it was real.

This could be proof Seiko existed after all! Picking up her pen, she wrote a couple of joyful lines near Seiko's and trust it out of the window, not waiting for it to disappear from view. It absolutely had reach her, no matter what. Sighing, she leapt onto her bed, grabbing her phone, and scrolled past the various posts on her social media. Most people were still talking about the fire in St Cross Girls school, or stressing that their school would be next. In fact Naomi knew that Kisiragi were going to be taking special precautions, just in case, and hoped that other schools were going to do that. Her mind wondered to Azusa and Ran all of a sudden. What would they do? Kisiragi did have good drama courses, but it wasn't a specialised drama school like theirs once was. But maybe they would join, just for the end of the year perhaps so they could keep on studying without a gap before collage. She quickly logged on to her school website and clicked on 'available student slots' and sure enough, there were four ready available ones for her year. The application form wasn't very selective, and they should be able to pass the exam without studying too hard.

So she texted Azusa with her plan, and a reply pinged back instantly, making Naomi smile. She said her parents had told her on the phone they thought it was a good idea, but they still wanted her to attend drama club In order to not miss out on her studies. Well that was just fine. Everyone would get on with the girls if they joined, just fine!

Right...?

**Okay I'm gonna let you guys decide what major factor was said her. It could be in the first or second part. There could be two. There could be four. Maybe just one. New chapter when ever I right it and find wifi in this hotel. Love ya.**


	28. Chapter 28 - New Arrivals

**Bittersweet chapter 28**

**yo yo yo guess who's back. For now anyway. Another chapter whilst I'm in Egypt. No one was here in the wifi bar is I used it all. Lol. Love ya!**

**filler chapter I'm thinking with some lols. Bye!**

* * *

It had been yet another week after the last, and everyone, even Yoshiki was in school at that time. Ayumi had read the book with interest, but most of it was irrelevant towards her bloodlines specific curse. She had told Yoshiki about the meeting afterwards, once he had got home from work, but had left the last line Ai had dropped to herself.

"Yoshikazu. Takamine. The Crazy Torched Guy. Lavender."

At first Ayumi had no idea what she was talking about, but after going home and thinking for a very long time sprawled across her bed, the identity of the Crazy Torched Guy suddenly dawned on her. After Yoshie had died, her spiritual energy had cursed the Yagahori line from the principle, Takamine, and further on. That meant that every descendent would live the same fate of being tortured and controlled by the spirits. She knew he must be related to them, as Ai had hinted, but where did he come in? As far as she knew, Yoshikazu didn't have any children, and he was the son of Takamine. Perhaps he was brothers with Yoshikazu, but it didn't really matter as long as it was clear he was in the same bloodline as them. However, one question still bothered her mind, refusing to go unanswered. Why was the man burning down all the high schools in the area? Maybe he was looking for certain pupils, pupils that were involved with spirits or the cause of his bloodline...Ayumi didn't really have time to think much on the way to school with Yoshiki, never mind look up the schools burnt down by him, so she soon let herself forget about it as she settled back into the normal school routine. Although upset that she could no longer do her nursing course, Naomi was still happy especially around Satoshi and her friends, and knew for a fact both Ran and Azusa had passed the exam (with flying colours) and were coming into school soon but they didn't state what day exactly. The four walked happily to class, Ayumi managing to narrowly avoid the stare of the bullies, clinging to Yoshiki's protective arm. First lesson was in their normal class, 2-9 , as usual, and Yoshiki wasn't expecting anything unprecedented to happen in the forty minutes it lasted. He should really learn to expect the unexpected...

"So..." said Naomi, pushing Yoshiki into the corner of the corridor, away from the others, who were in a conversation about the Crazy Torched Guy. "How are you...Yoshiki!"

"Um, good..."

"Or should I say, Knight-kun?"

"Eh?"

Naomi chuckled to herself as the teacher let the class in, returning Yoshiki's suspicious yet confused glances with blank looks, though she really, really wanted to tell him. He didn't know exactly who they were to Yoshiki, but maybe Azusa had dated him once, who was she to know?

"Ahem." the teacher cleared his throat as the last few pupils sat down. "I'm glad to announce we're welcoming two transfer students to group, from the sadly burnt down St cross girls school in this area."

Satoshi raised an eyebrow at Naomi, who nodded back to him to clarify. Ayumi muttered to herself; why did that school sound familiar? Sure it had been on the news and stuff, but there was just something else.

"...I think their due any minute-

"NOOOW!" yelled Ran, bursting through the doors, looking strange in the girly Kisaragi sailor suit, yet oddly sweet and cute. A few boys exchanged interested glances across the room, but no one spoke.

"Ran, calm down..." Azusa ran in behind her, breathless. All the boys were staring at them now, totally transfixed by their beauty, especially the more girly of the two, Azusa. Her uniform fit more snugly than Ran's, hugging her hourglass figure grandly. A boy at the back wolf whistled loudly, making her blush slightly. Yoshiki almost did a double take in his seat. How was she still here? How...

As the teacher introduced the two girls to the class, Yoshiki cursed under his breath, avoiding possible eye contact with Azusa. Ayumi felt a strange connection with the purple haired girl, like they were friendly towards each other, but if the other girl felt that too, she didn't glance at her to say so. Actually her eyes were on Yoshiki, which made Ayumi feel, if anything slightly annoyed. After taking another good look at them, she recognised them to be the girls in that café...

"...Thank you, now onto the register."

As Azusa slipped into the spare desk beside Yoshiki, that had once been Morishige's, she smiled at him and said.

"Nice to see you, Knight-kun!"

Yoshiki tried to ignore her, but he really wanted to know, a) How did she escape heavenly host? b) How did she have his number? And lastly, c) WHY WAS SHE HERE?!

"How...what...goddamnit,why?"

"We'll talk later Kishinuma." she replied with a wink, making all the boys behind her, and Ran, glare at him with jealousy. Ayumi, now slightly upset, tugged on the sleeve of his shirt cuff, making him turn towards her with a frown. But if softened when he saw the anxious look on her face.

"Azusa is nobody to worry about," he assured her, shifting on his seat. "I actually have to talk to her, but i need to talk to you afterwards, is that okay?"

Ayumi nodded curtly, she did trust him a lot after all, and after all he'd done to get her, he wouldn't cheat on her now, surely. Plus he was allowed friends that were girls, Naomi was a girl, and he was pretty friendly towards her anyway. Yoshiki returned her nod with a lazy grin, making her heart beat just the tiniest bit faster. Satoshi meanwhile, kept exchanging glances with Naomi, after he suddenly realised who 'Knight-kun' really was. Kishi, of course, he had thought to himself, how did I not see that before? Haha, Satoshi was definitely going to tease him about that now! For Yoshiki, the lesson went very slowly, and he almost burst out of his seat when the bell rang, grabbing Azusa roughly by the arm and striding out of the classroom before anyone else could. A few boys made comments about him after he left, but it passed and everyone left the class room as per normal, apart from a few sniggered and sneers aimed in Ayumi's direction. Not wanting to be alone in the walking direction of the bullies, she grabbed onto Naomi's arm and followed her and Satoshi, as well as Ran, the purple haired girl towards the hall. Yoshiki stopped when he was finally alone in a deserted corridor, breathless from running so fast. Azusa was about to say something when Yoshiki rudely cut her off.

"No, me first. Explain!'

"Explain what?" she retorted adamantly, backing away from him slightly.

"How did you and Ran escape?"

"Oh rights, of course you were going to ask that, as expected of you Knight-kun..."

"Please just get on with it, I need to be with my girlfriend!"

Azusa raised a perfect ginger eyebrow, since she didn't know that Yoshiki had been dating.

"So you got with Shinozaki then?"

"Yup," he said proudly. "Now explain."

"Geez don't be so harsh Yoshiki, all we did was-"

"Shhh, talk quickly now, or I'm going to get angry."

"Fine!" she shouted, crossing her arms."When I found Ran again, she came up with this crazy plan of following you and your friends, since you had the best lead on escaping. I didn't want to go along with it.."

"Then why did you?"

Azusa blushed at his harsh tone. When did he become so mean? Before, in Heavenly Host he had being really deep and kind, he had listened to her, now, he was just...cold.

"It was our only option! Actually thinking about it, you wouldn't of escaped without us!"

"How come?"

"Ran found Naho's notebook!"

"No," he corrected her "Ayumi found it."

"No she didn't!" Azusa huffily insisted. "Ran gave it to her whilst in a moment of possession, that's why she knows Ran but doesn't remember her."

"Carry on."

"We just followed you. We met the ghost girl shortly after you guts appeased Sachiko and she let us through the barrier. That's all."

"Okay."

He was about to walk away, his hands in his pockets as per usual, but she tugged him away at hi shoulder. Not many girls could reach him since he was quite tall, but Azusa d was also tall, for a girl of her age.

"Please, why are you being so cold? I thought you'd be glad that I'm not dead!"

"Of course I'm glad your not stuck there still!" he said, making Azusa surprised by his sudden change in tone. "It's just...weird, you know?

"Yeah. Can I still call you Knight-kun still?"

"You only used to say that when-"

"Let's forget all about that, I think it's for the best.",

"Alright. I'll see you around."

Yoshiki slid around the corner, his eyes peeled for his petite girlfriend. The only thing on his mind was protecting Ayumi from those rough girls, and his mind seemed to just clear it's self from Azusa-related-thoughts. Azusa was completely the opposite. Even when Ran brought her her favourite drink at break, she still couldn't snap out of the strange daze that had captured her.

* * *

"Maybe we shouldn't of come here..." she mumbled into her hands when she was sitting with Ran of course, and Naomi. "I feel like we...no, I just...don't belong."

"Don't be silly Wife, of course we should be here,' Ran consoles her with a hug. "We have drama next so it should cheer you up."

Naomi felt sorry for the two girls, having your school burnt down wasn't exactly fun, and the transfer was scary and unknown. Naomi secretly reckoned that Yoshiki was giving Azusa a hard time settling in, for whatever reason and that was upsetting her a bit.

"Look, if there's anything you want to talk about, Azusa, you can always talk to me."

"And me Wife, of course Ran will help you in anything possible ever!" Ran declared.

"Thank you both." Azusa thanked with a grateful smile. "But I'm okay now, don't worry."

"Wife," Ran whispered in her ear. "Do I get a reward?"

"Um..." Azusa tried not to laugh at Ran's oddly weird, seductive tone and shook her head. "I don't know what your thinking but it's not going to happen!"

"Aww..." Groaned Ran who knew she would say that anyway. She would always say that. "Boo. Let's go to drama Wife..."

As they walked across the hall, several boys were eying Azusa, winking at her, which made her blush again. Her last school had been all girls, so she wasn't used to the attention they were giving her. One boy, egged on by his mates, came up to her and wrote his number on her hand, making Ran absolutely fume in jealousy.

"Your not going to call him, are you Wife?" Ran asked urgently, a look of horror in her small round eyes.

"Probably not. I don't even know his name Ran."

"Phhheeeewweee!" exclaimed Ran with a toss of her lavender coloured hair. "Stuff you boys, my a Wife isn't going anywhere!"

"Can't you just call me Azusa..." she muttered as they left the hall, a few boys raising eyebrows about the 'Wife' part.

"No because one day...you will, well in my opinion that is always correct, Azusa, you are my wife!"

Azusa looked at her friend half heartedly. Although she loved her best friend very much, she didn't have feelings for her the way Ran did to her, but she never said it, for she was afraid of hurting Ran. She wasn't sure what Ran was planning, but Azusa knew at one point she had to tell Ran she wasn't her 'wife' and that she didn't like her that way. She hoped it wouldn't be anytime soon.


	29. Chapter 29 - Photos and Paper

**Bittersweet Chapter 29**

**YAAAY! I actually have a plot for the next four chapters after this. Yup, that's right, I'm extending it by 5 chapters + an epilogue after long thought. It's actually going to conclude! Ohemgee! I mean, when I started this I had no idea. Literally. I was bored so I created the first chapter of around 800 words, and gradually built up on it, blah I'll spare you the story guys. BUT NOW I (and hopefully you guys will figure it out soon) KNOW WHATS GOING TO HAPPEN! Yeaaaah. Let's be sure of one thing. No one is dying, I think that would just dampen the mood on this fanfic. No one is going anywhere (apart from Azusa and Ran) so don't worry. Plus I bet a load of you were mindblown about the crazy torched guy being a relation to Yoshikazu and the cursed bloodline..**

* * *

"...and Byakudon High...St Cross...Pollawina...four of them."

Ayumi had not given up on finding out the connection between the four schools burnt down so far, and wasn't about to for anyone. It annoyed Yoshiki slightly that she spent a lot of her time just researching and writing, pointlessly, and didn't focus on other things. Sure the whole matter was important and interesting, but hello, it was their futures he wanted her to think about, not the CTG and Heavenly Host. He knew that she hadn't even asked her parents if she could move it yet, even though she had brought most of her stuff over and slept at his most nights and at weekends. But, who was he do talk about parents anyway? They'd probably got the message by now and had stopped asking her daughter questions, since She was 17 after all, old enough and independent to live by herself, especially with him who was used to living without parents. Surely she'd move in properly soon...

"Yosh," she called him over using her pet name for him. "Do you recognise any of these schools?"

"Well duh," he said, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder as he looked over at it. "They've all been burnt down."

"I know that. Anything else?"

"Saint cross school, that's where Azusa came from, am I right?"

"Yes," Ayumi replied, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the mention of the transfer students name.

"Uh, I have to tell you something then, if it's going to help you get through this..."

Ayumi blinked at him rapidly, with fear and interest in the cool, clear eyes. She dreaded to think what was coming next, sincerely hoping it was nothing about the two new pretty girls.

"Er, ok."

"Azusa and Ran did the charm and came to Heavenly Host with us. The followed me and managed to escape some how, using the last of Yuki's spirit energy in order to."

"Oh, right." she replied, breathing a huge sigh of utter relief. That's how he knew them, they weren't his ex's. Thinking about it they wouldn't really consider Yoshiki a potential boyfriend, being a delinquent and all. "That explains everything."

"But, what I've thought about it more, Ayumi," he mused. "That's why Heavenly Host collapsed, because they used up all her energy. She couldn't rebuild it after we appeased Sachiko!"

"How long did you know this!?"

"Erm, I've just been mulling it over in the nights your not here. I wasn't sure about my theory though..."

"Your amazing!" She declared, hugging him on the spot. "Maybe this will relate to the Crazy Torched Guy and Yoshikzu's cursed bloodline, and help with the eternal collapse of Heavenly Host!"

"Ha..."

He couldn't help gazing at her joyful eyes, reminding herself how much this would mean to her if people remembered her lost friends and got their memories back. It would be very convenient, Yoshiki thought, but it would take a lot of effort for that to actually happen. He didn't think he would be able to do something like that, he had no idea where to start, but maybe Hinoe could help Ayumi. Of course Yoshiki didn't know all about Ayumi's visit to Ai's, all that he knew was that she helped her find out how to cure her bloodline. With that subject springing to mind as they happily embraced, Yoshiki decided to bring it up.

"Hey, did you get any further with breaking your curse?"

"Yeah, I gathered some stuff mentioned in the book..." Ayumi disappeared momentarily, returning with the hefty, thick paged book and various objects piled on top of it. She was about to put it on the table where Yoshiki was standing by, but tripped over, everything flying out of her arms. "Ack!" she yelled, hitting her arm on the floor clumsily. Ugh, she was never like this, it was Satoshi's job to be the one falling over all the time!

"Ayumi!" Yoshiki instantly rushed over to help her up, grabbing her by her hands and hoisting her back up. "Geez, you scared me there, be careful!"

"Ugh...Sorry."

"Are you hurt?"

"Your supposed to say that before you tell me to be careful!"

"Sorry...What did you trip on anyway?"

Yoshiki kneeled down on the floor, instantly spotting some sort of photos album Ayumi must of dropped. It wasn't him; he didn't like keeping stuff like that. Ayumi must have brought it over yesterday when she had gone to pick stuff up from her house.

"Oh, that's just an album. From this year, actually, though there's parts from decades ago hidden by my sister at the back."

"What do you need that for?"

"Evidence of the curse being done. I think my sister put a copy of our family tree in there as well as some old pictures with the men with their faces scribbled out."

"Can I see?"

Ayumi nodded, although she didn't see why he wanted to see those pictures. However, if they were going to break this curse together, she'd have to let him do a little bit of what he wanted. They sat on the couch and she opened the book, opening it on the page which stated the very start if the year when they had first formed the class 2-9. It was a picture of their classmates, them and the teachers. Where Mayu, Seiko, Morishige and Ms Yui once smiled was replaced with a dull black hole. Yoshiki quickly skipped past the page, not wanting Ayumi to relive any memories, and stopped on a page that didn't have any of the deceased on. It was a photo, much more recent, of the four friends at the pier, on the beach, before Ayumi had her vision and the day was ruined. Yoshiki was taking the picture, so his head looked really big, making him cringe just looking at himself. Ayumi had a hand playfully on his shoulder and was smiling, totally relaxed and happy to be by his side. Naomi was sat on the picnic blanket, posing sillily for the camera, where was Satoshi was not paying attention to the fact his photo was being taken, and he had his moth wide open, ready to eat an apple. That was typical of him.

"It seemed like such a long time ago, yet it was only a couple of months." Ayumi sighed, stroking the photo fondly.

"I love it though, Ayumi. Especially you, of course, you look so pretty in a swim suit..."

"Are you saying I'm not pretty when I'm not in a swim suit?"

"Eh, I just like you better that way!" he chuckled, turning the page again. This one was purely pictures of Ayumi and Hinoe. At the shops, trying out spirit items, smiling, laughing, no tension between them at all. Ayumi's heart sank as she saw each photo. She had been drifting away from her sister ever since she started dating Yoshiki, spending less and less time with her whether it be spirit related or not. She missed that closeness they had, before she felt that she could tell her anything without a doubt, but now there was more tension and silence between them now that Ayumi knew about the curse. And, of course, the fact that Ayumi was still with Yoshiki. Yoshiki glanced at her girlfriend, guessing what she was thinking about and felt sorry for her. He put an arm around her consolingly and turned the page yet again.

"Look, it's going to be hard to break your curse alone," he started, stroking the loose strands of hair away from her face. "You need your sister."

"I know..." she whispered. "I don't even think she knows that we are going to try and break it yet!"

"Then why don't your go home for a bit," he suggested, taking the album, book and various objects and stuffing them into Ayumi's school bag. "Ask your sister for some advice, and maybe it won't be so awkward between you."

"Yeah, sis has always forgiven me whenever we rarely had an argument."

"Then go!"

"You don't want me to stay here, do you?" she said, biting her lip.

"I do, but take this opportunity to say your moving in with...your smart and very good looking as well as heroic, awesome and practically irresistible boyfriend. Plus it's a step further to breaking the curse, I guess..." he laughed with a smug smirk.

"Haha as if. Dequlient, rude, rough... That's why I like you!"

"Those are the exact reasons why you didn't like me."

"..."

She was silenced by Yoshiki's soft lips, making her blush, but reach for his warm cheeks. Now, she was determined just to focus on breaking the curse, to make sure their precious relationship didn't break, or worse, be torn apart by death. Although Yoshiki didn't think so, Ayumi was thinking of her future, and it was very clear to her already what she wanted to do.

Eventually after a long kiss, Ayumi managed to drag her face away from his, making him chuckle slightly at her reluctance.

"See you later?"

"I don't know how long ill be..."

"I'll have food for you when you get back, 'Kay?"

"Yup. Don't you dare burn it Yoshiki or your dead!"

"Eh?"

Ayumi left the flat, her bag heavy with all the stuff she had in it as Yoshiki watched on, his eyes shining. They would break the curse. Ayumi would have a future, hopefully, with him...

* * *

"Another message...My, you've got lots of time to spare today Seiko!"

Another aeroplane had just passed through the window, with more scribbles from Seiko on the back. Her replies were usually short and not descriptive, but after all she was dead, so it wouldn't be too easy to write, especially in a place like Heavenly Host Elementary! This message read:

'Collapsing, need to seal it off. Talk to Ayumi soon she knows but she won't don't do it. Fighting her own demons right now. Love you, S'

Fighting her own demons right now...

Naomi wondered what Seiko meant, but whatever it was it seemed to be important. She quickly texted Ayumi, who she presumed was still at Yoshiki's. Now reply came back, so she reckoned she was probably busy with Yoshiki or something. Naomi would have to wait until tomorrow, Friday, at school unless she texted back later to talk to her. Picking up a pencil, she wrote a quick reply.

'Right, I will do! Can I talk to Mayu and Morishige like this too?"

She threw it out of the window. After a few short minutes if came back, hitting Naomi squarely on the nose with strange precision.

"Not you. One for each apart from Yuka who has Kurosaki."

One each. Did that mean everyone had a person, now spirit, each to write to? If that was the case, Ayumi would definitely have Ms Yui as they were quite close, but what about the boys? Yoshiki and Morishige weren't the closest but Mayu was closer to Satoshi then Yoshiki. Plus, who was Kurozaki? She had so much things to think about that she didn't even notice her mother walk in whilst she was writing yet another message.

"Darling, what are you writing?" she asked, coming to sit down on the bed with her.

"A message to...a friend."

"On an aeroplane?"

"Yes, that's the only way."

"Right...Anyway, I'd like you to come downstairs and help me clean up the kitchen if you will. And I think you have Science homework to do as well!"

"Yes mum..." she replied with a loud groan, throwing the folded paper out of her window, not bothering to watch it drift away into the sky and following her mother reluctantly. "I'm coming!"

* * *

**Yup. Stuff is going to happen SOON**


	30. Chapter 30 - The Epiphany

**Bittersweet chapter 30**

**Prepare for trouble, make it...double?**

**I'm back with anuuurther chapter guys! Woohoo. I just want to say something, I've changed one thing in the plot. Someone will die, but they are erm, fairly, well a minor character I'd say. It's going to be sad but it happens for a good cause. And they are also mentioned in the epilogue. Let the chapter commence!**

**(I swear I use the words smile, okay and definitely waaaay too much. Sorry. That was a more note to self.)**

**Love ya 3**

* * *

Soft music poured out of the stereo as Naomi's mother cleaned up Naomi's room. Her daughter had gone out again after school, however this time just with Satoshi since Ayumi had gotten permission to move in with Yoshiki and was taking the rest of her belongings with her. They were a nice couple, but to be honest, Naomi's mother disapproved of their relationship, despite the fact her daughter had a boyfriend. However they weren't as serious, she supposed, but they were 17, and she, as a probably overprotective mother wouldn't willingly let Naomi move until she went to collage or university. It didn't matter at that moment anyway. What did matter was that Naomi was getting quite untidy recently, and that meant more work for her to clean her room. She was busy collecting laundry when she heard sharp taps against the window, as if someone were asking to come in. Curiously, she placed the full laundry basket on Naomi's dresser and walked over to the windows, tugging tightly on the handle to open it. Hopefully it wasn't the rough boys from around the poor estate block throwing stones at the windows, since her neighbours had often told her about it happening to them and they would always run away before they could catch who they were. She opened it wide, but there was nothing to be seen, so turned back to the laundry basket, shaking her head as if it had just been in her imagination. However, she suddenly heard the windows shut abruptly, making her whip back around quickly to see what had made the bang.

Maybe it had just been a large gust of Autumn wind? It was almost October so it seemed to make sense. But right below the window, was a brilliant-white paper plane, just like the one Naomi had been fiddling earlier, however, scribbled all over on with scrawny writing among her daughters neat handwriting. Picking it up, she skimmed through Naomi's recognised handwriting, seeing it as a letter to, that friend she was always talking about. Seiko Shinohara. No matter how many times she had told her that girl never existed, she would still believe she had, and was stuck in some haunted school called 'Heavenly Host' or, she had elaborated on it, calling it 'Tenjin Elementary School' once or twice when she was trying to convince her that the horrifically explained event had ever happened. Turning onto the back, she almost gasped when she read the writing.

'Hiya Naomi. Sorry can't be long not much spirit energy left in heavenly host. Need to tell you how to seal it away so please reply. Lots of love, Seiko xoxox'

Seiko? Had the friend Naomi had supposedly made up actually existed/used to? It was definitely possible Naomi had just faked it to make herself feel better, but that wasn't a thing that the young intelligent girl would do, even in her circumstance. In the short reply Seiko had mentioned Heavenly Host too. Was Naomi's recall of the day she went missing and became traumatised not that far fetched? As she touched 'Seiko's' writing a piercing pain ran through her fingers, shocking her and making her feel like she had been electrocuted. The edges of her blurred vision went dark, as she fell to the floor.

* * *

"Naaaoommmii!" Giggled Seiko, grabbing her friends arm as they entered Naomi's house. "Tonight's gonna be sooooo fun!"

"I know!" agreed Naomi excitedly, bursting into the kitchen where her mother was busy cooking tea. "Hi mum, we're home!"

"I can see that darling," her mother replied dryly, stirring the noodles in a enamel pan. "Did you have fun at the park!"

"It was the best. But I'm really hungry now, Ms Nakashima!"

"Seiko!"

"Don't worry, I know you guys have had a busy day at school. How are your friends?"

Naomi and Seiko clambered onto the dining room chairs, giggling with happiness. They had been friends for ages but this was their first official sleepover, and they had been looking forward to it all week.

"Good mum."

"Nooo, you can't just leave if at that Naomi!" cried Seiko. "What about your beloved Mochida-kun?"

"Eh?"

"Naomi's got a cruuuuuuush!" Seiko declared with a teasing hand on her chest.

"Oh really Naomi?" asked her mother curiously, making Naomi's cheeks redden. "Is that true?"

"Uh, maybe I like him a little bit...Seiko why did you have to shout it out loud?"

"Teeheehee!"

Naomi's mother gazed at the two chatty girls, glad that they seemed to be such good friends and enjoyed each other's company without getting bored. Naomi was such a lonely child sometimes, since she had now siblings to spend time with, or many other relations her age. Seiko seemed very lively, chatty and slightly perverted, maybe that's what her quiet daughter needed around her to make her happy. She was sure of it, Seiko was a very good person indeed.

Seiko...

Seiko...

Seiko...

Seiko...

Seiko...

Seiko..

"Seiko!" came Naomi's laughing voice in her mothers head. "Your my best friend Seiko!"

"Seiko..." tutted her mother as Seiko accidently spilt her drink everywhere.

Seiko...

Seiko existed, didn't she!

* * *

Tsukasa staggered backwards, clutching his head in his hands as he recovered from the sudden vision. What the hell had just happened? He had relived the day he and Yui had watched the sunrise, holding hands together although at that time he didn't understand what she was trying to say by that. But he had felt the feelings that he had felt for her five years ago, and it was making him struggle to stay focused on the current time. He was sure of it now, after what Satoshi and Ai had said to him, Yui had existed, and was taken away by that ludicrous charm, murdered, killed, gone forever. Was it related to that strange woman Yui had mentioned that day, or did it have anything to do with him? He took time for granted when she was younger, and now he was wishing he could go back to being with Yui. Back then he had wasted his time not realising how she had felt about him, so now of course he wished he hadn't of been so oblivious to her affections then. Why did it all go so wrong? He slumped against the wall, tears stinging in his angry purple eyes, though he refused to let them fall.

"Yui..." he half groaned, half whispered. "Why did this happen? I really miss you..."

It was true they had lost contact after she had become a teacher, but that didn't stop him from thinking about her constantly when he saw someone who reminded him of her. He ought to of stayed by her, instead of slowly drifting away, and maybe this would of never even happened. He'd be happy with Yui, his sister would be happy with her daughter and maybe her husband wouldn't of died, everything would be alright. But it wasn't, it was crumpled and broken like a rejected photo copy. Before he had got his memories back, he had always felt like something big was missing from him, a large chunk or a piece of a puzzle, but he never realised it was Yui. Suddenly he was snapped out of his sorrowful daze by a sharp rap at his door. He was not proud to say it but, he lived with his sister since he didn't have a stable enough income to keep a home and stuff like that which was quite embarrassing considering he was in his early twenties. Quickly getting up, he straightened his askew jacket and racked a hand through his messy ginger hair before opening the door to his sister.

"Ai," he said, with almost a careless yawn. "'Sup?"

"I learnt to see through that careless mask, many, many years ago Tsukasa." Ai snapped, rolling her violet eyes before entering the messy room.

"Geez, give me a break, I've just had some freaky spiritual vision type thingy!" he retorted, crossing his arms.

"I know." she replied almost sadly, surprising Tsukasa. "I had one too. No doubt Mochida and his friends have had one too. And probably Azusa, thinking about it."

"Huh...Azusa's in town, eh?"

"Yeah, the supposed Crazy Torch Guy burnt down her school."

"Shame. Didn't it specialise in drama though?"

"That's irrelevant. You do know the identity of him, don't you?"

Tsukasa shook his head cluelessly, making Ai bring her hand to her forehead in irritation.

"He's a relative of the cursed bloodline from the principle Takamine who started...all this mess. It was kind of a message sent by the spirits for us to seal Heavenly Host off so no more damage can be done."

"Wait. I thought to couldn't be destroyed?" questioned Tsukasa.

"Now that Sachiko's appeased there's nothing supporting it, I must of told you about three times! Hopefully the rest of us, who have fairly high counts of spiritual energy can seal the Crazy Torched guy away and seal of Heavenly Host forever. Clear enough for your thick head, brother?"

Tsukasa laughed at her last snide comment. He may not look like it but he was the eldest, and Ai certainly didn't let the age gap get in her way. Thank goodness, Tsukasa didn't take her very seriously, so the odd snippy comment never offended him.

"I guess so. One more thing!"

"Hurry up," Ai growled.

"What do you mean the rest of us?"

"It's up to me, you, Nakashima, Mochida and hopefully Shinozaki's sister can help us out too."

"Why not Shinozaki and Kishinuma then?"

"They're going to have a go at fighting their own demons now. I've got to go and prepare now, will you text Mochida please. Thanks."

Ai left the door with a swish of her up-do behind her making Tsukasa tut at her briskness. How on earth were they supposed to seal of the haunted space thing, specially since only two of those mentioned were gifted with spirits? There were so many questions he knew no one would answer for him, especially Ai's. As he picked up his phone to text Satoshi, there was another tap at the door, this time soft and gentle.

"Come in!"

Ume closed the door quietly, and strolled across the room, her thin blonde pigtails bouncing as she walked.

"Hi Uncle Tsu..."

"Hey Ume!" he greeted her, patting the space on his bed next to him for her to come down. "You okay?"

"Bit lonely." she replied sulkily. "Mummy's so busy in the brewery that I can't play with her at all! She says your going to be busy as well tomorrow, so there's going to be no one go okay with all day!"

"Hey, don't worry! It's really important though, and I can't miss it so you'll just have to stay strong for one more day.'

Ume's sapphire eyes dropped with disappointment and her lower lip stuck out with a wobble. Instantly Tsukasa felt bad, and dug around in his mind for an idea that might help. ,However there was nothing that sprang to mind, so instead of his usually last minute, fun suggestion he just sighed.

"I'm free to day though..." he added after thought. "How about we go and see Satoshi today?"

"Satoshi?" Ume echoed, her eyes lighting up with interest. "Who's that?"

"I think you saw him perhaps at the park. Kishinuma's friend.."

"Oh, well if he's like Mr Yoshiki I'm sure he'll be...nice."

"Good girl. Let's go and ask Ai first."

"Okay!"

Sometimes it was just the simplest things that could make a little girl's day. Now all he had to do was tell Ai he was going to Satoshi's house to tell him to come over tomorrow so they could seal Heavenly Host off,which he still had no idea how they were going to do it, but at least he would be able to help if need. Without knocking on the door he breezily entered the room, his best confident-please-let-me-do-it face on him.

"Hey Ai!" He called with a grin.

"What is it?" she replied from deep within the brewery, as she was busy reading books to make her plan.

"Can I go to Satoshi's to tell him about, erm, tomorrow?"

"Why are you asking me, your older then me you, nutcase!?"

"'Cos I wanna take Ume with me so I don't get bored!"

Ai sighed as she saw her little daughter come into view, a nervous smile across her pale pink lips. She needed to work on a plan that didn't get her innocent child involved.

"Fine," she gave her permission with another sigh. "Don't be to long, and get the boy to tell Nakashima and the others, okay?"

"M'kay. C'mon, Ume let's go!"

"Okay, bye bye...Mummy..."

Ai waved as they rushed out of the room before turning back to her book.

"Tsukasa as well.." she muttered under her breath quietly. "And Nakashima's mother. They're going to become targets soon...or now."

She flicked through the pages worriedly, her fingers cold. "Azusa too...No wait. She has more spirit energy as she is a victim. So do I and Hinoe as we are gifted in certain ways. I hope she has had her vision."

Once they had sealed of Heavenly Host, all about it will be forgotten from people's minds apart from the various survivors and people close to the victims that fell. It would vanish from books, apart from the legendary book of shadows which lay in the Shinozaki Estate, from websites, everywhere. It would only lie in the memories of the survivors. It was for the best, Ai thought.

It was just a matter of time...

* * *

Doc manager was flipping annoying today


	31. Chapter 31 - Shinozaki, Saenoki, Mikuni

**Bittersweet chapter 31**

**Hi guys! Tomorrow we should be going back to our usual scedule, so Bittersweet wont take too long to finish.**

**I spent way too much translating the spell. I hope you appreciate it guys!**

* * *

Ayumi had everything prepared, laid out in a circle on the chestnut coloured floor boards of Yoshiki's flat floor. Ayumi had triple checked every item needed for the ritual that had been stated in Ai's battered book, making sure that she had exactly the right items, since she really didn't want to mess this one up. What would be the consequence if the got it wrong; would their fate be similar to the one which they received when they failed Sachiko's Charm? Would they die? It could be possible, for the two curses, Heavenly Host and the Shinozaki bloodlines curse were definitely connected. Shaking her head, she called Yoshiki from the kitchen, not wanting to imagine any of the possible worse-case scenarios. Yoshiki entered, a careless look on his face but he was raking his hand through his bleach blonde hair with nervousness. Last time he had participated in a spiritual ritual...Well it certainly didn't go as planned! Ayumi was crouched on her knees, turning over the various notes and photos, as well as staring at numerous spiritual items she had snagged secretly from Hinoe's room. Yoshiki abrubtly came to join her, grinning reassuringly at her. If she was going to be anxious, she might make a slip somewhere and regret it for the rest of her life, so he decided to try and look confident for his girlfriends sake.

"Have you got everything?" he asked softly, leaning over her shoulders.

"I think so," she replied with a wobbly tone. "Evidence - here,s the photo Hinoe had of Sachiko's late father. My family tree including some of the origins. Purifying Sufler powder, and some more spiritual items that are listed."

"Anything else, or just we just go ahead?"

"There is to be silence and we must do it in candle light..."

Ayumi walked over to the outstretched windows and pulled each one shut tight, blocking off all the noises from the busy streets below. The dreary silence made the sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach glow, increasing her anxitiey even more. Yoshiki pulled out Ayumi's well stocked candle supply from a drawer, lighting two with a single match and flicking the power off. They met back at the circle of items whilst Yoshiki lay down the candles, orange light bouncing off his face. Ayumi took a sharp breath and tilted her chin towards Yoshiki, smiling breifly.

"All you have to do," she whispered to him. "Is repeat the words I say."

"Gotcha Ayumi."

They took one last breath together before she placed Ai's book in the middle of the ring, opened on the specific page about her type of curse. Instantly the items glowed and eerie blue and a harsh gush of cold surrounded the room. Ayumi placed her icy hands on the inbook, Yoshiki copying her, and started to read out some mysterious words in many languages. Yoshiki did find it strange, but it might of had something to do with the book of shadows, and how they were written in many languages.

"Libérer les esprits," She chanted quietly, glancing at Yoshiki who repeated like he was her echo in a tunnel. "den Fluch brechen..."

Ayumi dug in her mind for the words. They had been in French, German, Spanish, English and lastly Japanese. She had spent hours memorising them.

"de la familia Shinozaki, So we can live with our love, mada takuto-nai!"

After Yoshiki had echoed the last few lines, the bright blue light burned red, and the evidence and photos started to glow a fiery orange. Wincing at the too-bright light, Yoshiki turned his face away but Ayumi jerked it back. She gave him a pleading look as she remembered it was important to make sure he directed all his thoughts on breaking the curse. The spirits needed to sense of will in tact. Suddenly, Ayumi felt a piercing pain through her head; it was splitting and throbbing terribly. She gasped, and despite Yoshiki having felt the same sensation, he just grit his teeth and tried to bare the bizarre pain.

"Seij Shinozaki...Yoshie Shinozaki...Sachiko Shinozaki..." she rasped, watching in shock as the photo caught on fire. 'Ugh...Ayato Shinozaki, Asuka Shinozaki, Hinoe and Ayumi Shinozaki..."

Something else caught on fire. Startledl Yoshiki tried to put it out but Ayumi whacked his hand away forcefully and violently shook her head. She was biting her lip in nervousness, but didn't want Yoshiki to interfere with the whole thing.

"Break the curse!"

The candles went out; and the room was sucked up into complete, pitch black darkness. Ayumi screamed helplessly and Yoshiki cried out in shock as their heads started spinning again. Ayumi fumbled in the dark for his hand and once he had found it, grasped it tightly. His palms were sweaty and warm, not giving her much reassurence on the whole situation. It was because he had absolutely no clue on what was happening to them. Had they miserably failed the curse? Was the caster angry? Ayumi didn't seem to know either, so he shut his mouth so no questions would come out and distress her even more. They felt panic rising now, however suddenly a bright stripe of yellow light flashed by in milliseconds, leaving a yellow glow in her vision even when they closed their eyes. Then, Ayumi heard a mysterious yet mocking voice call out to her.

"Are you sure he is the right one, Daughter of Shinozaki?" it called, it's harsh, questioning tone, making a shiver run down Ayumi's spine. "Yoshiki Kishinuma? A rebel, a delinquent excuse for a boy?"

"I'm sure!" she retorted firmly, making Yoshiki smile even just a little bit.

"What a shame. The last few generations have been far to careless on their adoption choices!"

"Adoption Choices?" Repeated Yoshiki, but both his girlfriend and the spirit ignored him still.

"I don't care about the past; the future is now!"

"Ignorant child! Do you know how many people I have seen fail this ritual?"

Ayumi shrank back, wondering how many generations had tried to break the curse to save the future generations. Look where that got them!

"Yoshiki is the one for me! Who are you anyway?"

"I was the first witch. The first to be gifted, spirit involved whatever. I lived in France in the middle ages. I created a spell to make me live longer, so I taught my gifted relations and wrote the book of shadows." The spirit explained. "Makes sense now, Shinozaki?"

"A lot actually," Ayumi replied, her fingers still entwined with Yoshiki's. "Did we break it or not?"

"That it's the one question..." the spirit mused in a hollow voice. "It will depend on your thoughts and oppinions."

"Go ahead!" She shouted into the empty air. "I'm not giving up on this now!"

"The name Mikuni..." she said, making both Ayumi and Yoshiki flinch. "What does it mean to you, child?"

"Uh, Ai Mikuni gave me this book," she replied, pointing at the cover although she didn't know where the spirit was. "she's gifted with the spirits...and she's got a daughter and a brother."

"Why?" Repeated the spirit sarcastically with a snarl. "You haven't done your history on me, have you now?"

"We didn't exactly know we were going to meet you!" Butted in Yoshiki.

"Silence boy. I suppose I'll have to tell you the whole story then...

One day, there were three sisters that were visited by death and given magical black powers. Each sister was given the talents to cast, remove and sense spells as well as sense spirits too. In addition, they had a talent of their own which they took pride on and all thought theirs was the best. Unfortunately when arguing on who would be the best to teach the next few generations of the gifted, they fell out and took different paths of fate. They all got married and had children, teaching them the arts of the spirits. They formed the three gifted families: Saenoki, Mikuni and Shinozaki. The Saenoki bloodline became quite rare and no one really rememberEd them. Of course you find the odd gifte. Saenoki, but they are lacking. The Mikuni bloodline however, became less pure after letting their children choose who they married. The gifted are more frequent then in the Saenoki line. The Shinozaki bloodline on the other hand, led by the eldest sister stayed strict and pure, with every female being gifted and their approved boyfriends being adopted into the family line. However the three sisters did not realise what their split of fates had done to their families. The Saenoki bloodline had a frequency of possesion, even in the non-spirit world. For the Mikuni's, evey other husband and child dies, unless the mother is not gifted. And I think you know the Shinozaki curse as well."

Ayumi took it it, breathless. That was the truth! Did Hinoe know about this? Suddenly realisation dawned on her...'...I was the first to be gifted' 'The eldest was Shinozaki...'

"You were the eldest sister!" She declared, surprising Yoshiki. "You've come back to stop everyone from breaking the curse! Why?"

"Although I was the eldest sister, I got jealous, vengeful and felt awful hatred towards my sisters, whom I blamed for the starts of the curse."

"go on!"

"I held my grudge, saying that I just wanted it to be a reminder of their undoing..."

"your lying!" Ayumi snapped. "You wanted to break it, but without the power from your sisters, you weren't good enough; you needed their help!"

"Be Qu-"

"No! Your just to stubborn to swallow your pride, and you don't want anyone breaking the curse and taking all the credit!"

A clap of thunder rang through the room, making Yoshiki cover his ears at the loud sound. After a while of uncertain silence, the spirit spoke again.

"Very well, you have made you choice," she whispered, her voice getting fainter. "You are just like me, Shinozaki..."

The floor started to shake, making the couple cry out in shock and fear, Surely they'd done enough to stop the curse?

A large explosion and a large banging sounds were the last things Yoshiki could sense. He was forced backwards, everything flying everywhere, until the edges of his vision turned black.

* * *

**Gave away a huge hint in the story. And cliffhanger. sorry!**


	32. Chapter 32 - (IMPORTANT) Stuff Happens

**Bittersweet 32**

**FINALLY BACK TO MY NORMAL SCHEDULE!  
Bittersweet will be finished in about three or four days. I will hopefully upload the chapters every other day with Modern girl chapters when I don't. Sorry for the delay on modern girl, I've just got back to school and it's really busy so I had to squeeze even this relatively short(er than the other ones) chapter late at night. i will do it tomorrow, promise.  
I am so so so sorry for the huge cliffhanger! But you'll have to wait one more chapter to see what happened to them. Love ya ~3**

* * *

Tsukasa's visit to Satoshi's hadn't been very eventful; all he had done was tell him, and Naomi who was with him, exactly what Ai had told him. They accepted it with a little confusion on Satoshi's side, agreeing they would come over the next day to assist with Ai's plan of sealing away the CTG into heavenly host. Naomi said she had wanted for them to do it as soon as possible to prevent harm to her mother, who she knew was a new target after she had emotionally learnt that Seiko did indeed exist. Ume had enjoyed her time at her uncles friends house, but really wanted to see Ayumi since she had been so kind to her in the park. She wondered what she was doing now. Was she with Mr Yoshiki still? After all she had promised the little girl she would play with her, so she would get to see her again, right? Ume didn't get to know because Tsukasa dragged her back home quickly after he had had the breif conversation with Satoshi and his girlfriend.

Nevertheless, she forgot about it, just like any innocent child would after some hours. When they were home, Ume was alone again as Tsukasa had to visit Hinoe, Ayumi's sister who lived in her family home where was Ayumi had gone to live with Yoshiki instead. She had asked to go, but Ai wouldn't let her go out again for a strange reason, however Tsukasa didn't comment so the reason must of been relatively important.

It was late evening, and a hungry Ume was mooching outside the corridor of the brewery, pondering whether she should dare to go in or not. It was way past her tea time; her mother usually never forgot, but she had so much to do, and things that were on her mind she had completely let the whole thing leave her mind to make room for more things, like what on earth they were going to do tomorrow. Eventually, after shuffling on her dainty feet or awhile, she knocked quietly on the door, twitching instantly away in the fear of unknown. No answer. She tried again, this time louder like when her uncle knocked. This time Ai heard it, and the scraping of chair legs on the floorboards could be heard as Ume waited nervously outside the room. Ai looked worn out, and her face looked as if she had grown ten years older. Obviously she had been working hard and consequently was very tired.

"Ume..." She paused to yawn. "What d'ya want?"

"You sound like Uncle," she quipped. "I think you forgot about tea time."

"Uh...Food? That's right, food. Didn't Tsukasa make you something?"

"He's not back yet mummy," Ume replied nervously. "He's visiting Shinozaki, remember!"

"Yes but he shouldn't be this long," she mused, puzzled. "I'll call him." Ai turned to go back inside but Ume tugged at the hem of her mothers floaty skirt.

"But, mum, what about tea time?"

"Tsukasa will get some fish n' chips on his way back. With extra ketchup, isn't that your favourite Ume-chan?"

Ume nodded, a relaxed smile breaking out on her cherry red lips. It was true, they were, so they would be worth waiting for!  
"Good. Go back to your room okay? Hopefully he won't be long!"  
"Thank you..."

When Tsukasa returned a little later with a bag filled with steaming hot fish and golden chips, Ume's happiness was restored once more. What she didn't know was that that might of been the last time she would eat her favourite meal...

* * *

The next day was the day Ai had planned to seal the CTG once for all. She had spent a lot of time hauled up in her room making plans, and felt bad that she had slightly neglected her lonely daughter. She solemnly promised to herself that she would spend a lot more time with Ume, as soon as everything went back to normal. Well, nothing could go back to 'normal' now, most of them had forgotten what normal really was. Satoshi and Naomi were due at the rural spot in the forest the had planned to meet soon, and Ai, Tsukasa and Hinoe were already there. A friend of Ai's had gone over to her house to look after little Ume, since Ai really didn't want her getting involved with it, anything could happen to a vulnerable child.

"I presume your using a spiritual item to lure him to us?" Asked Hinoe softly, trying to ease the tension stuck in the air.

"Yes." came Ai's short reply. The only way was to gather victims, survivors and targets of the Crazy Torched Guy in one spot so he could make one 'attack' but they'd seal him whilst he was surrounded. She had also gathered spiritual items and Hinoe had revised a spell to help with the sealing.

"Good..."

The area they had chosen was thick forest, hidden from anywhere else just in case anything went wrong, so no one could see them. It was fairly confidential after all!  
"Sis, how the hell are we going to seal the creep off?" questioned Tsukasa, a hint of doubt in his voice. Ai tutted.

"Our combined spiritual energy will be enough to fuel Shinozaki's spell, and hopefully with a bit of conviction we can seal the...beast off where it belongs, which should destroy heavenly host once and for all. Clear enough for your thick head, big brother?"

"Now where have I heard that before?"

Tsukasa tried to sound jokey but the expression just didn't come out the way he had planned it to. If anything that had made the whole situation worse. Thankfully, the soft pad of footsteps in front of them picked up their attention, only to see Satoshi and Naomi approach them, grave looks on their usually relaxed faces. After exchanging brief, unreadable glances, they joined the tense circle that had been waiting patiently for them.

"Hey." Naomi said to Ai, though she barely knew her.

"Hello Nakashima."

"Nice to see you again Tsu!" Satoshi greeted more friendly. "Got anywhere further with being a vetatarian?"

"Yes actually," he replied, not as cheerful as usual. "I'm gonna start a course next month...perhaps."

"Oh. Right.."

"Good for you Mikuni..."

"Thanks."

The silence was sickening, ringing in their sore ears even though there was no sound. The breeze blew by, scattering crispy autumn leaves of a dull burnt orange colour around their feet, making them realise just how autumnal the world was turning. After all, it was almost October; very close to Yuka's next birthday already. To Satoshi it just seemed like yesterday when he was laughing with Seiko and the others in his class in total relaxation with nothing bothering him, nothing much to lose. It was totally different now, changed by one ridiculous event that should if never happened.

"He is close," whispered Hinoe, glancing at everyone present around the circle. "Ai, I think we should place the spiritual items in the middle now."

Ai said nothing but went ahead and placed a book, a small box with a dull pattern and sprinkled a strange yellow powder on top like icing sugar on a cake. Hinoe tossed on something else and finally lit it with a match, making the whole thing glow bright purple. Satoshi and not to mention Naomi hadn't seen anything quite like it before in their lives, but knew better not to question it now. Just go with the flow, Satoshi thought to himself, you've done plenty of stuff already that you had no idea what they were in the first place.  
For a few more awkward moments no one spoke, and Tsukasa and Satoshi were highly doubtful it was even going to work. How legit was this?

"It's near now..."

Suddenly huge thuds were heard very close, making Naomi jump out of her skin. Satoshi slug a protective arm over her shoulder and winces, even scared himself. The Crazy Torched Guy appeared, a good few feet taller then Tsukasa and as gorily scary looking as always, wielding a lit wooden torch in his gnarled hands. Ai straightened her back steadily and called out to it.

"Cursed descendent of the Yanagihori bloodline!" She yelled up the the menacing man.

"We have come to free you if your burden!"  
Satoshi and Naomi exchanged anxious glances; free him of his burden? Was she referring to them?

"Please listen!" Pleaded Hinoe, getting his attention better then Hinoe had. "You hate being like this, don't you, controlled by the space that took your relatives!"  
The CTG turned to face her, his blood shot eyes squinting at her in a curious fashion, as if he were trying to say, do go on.

"If we can send you back with our spiritual energy, you can finish off the little power left their since you can't keep sending energy back. It will be sealed off forever, you won't be controlled anymore!"

"And you'll prevent a whole lot of harm from happening!" Added Naomi, bravely but everyone could hear the hint of nervousness in her voice. The lumbering giant stared down at the five determined faces, trying his best to listen although it was notoriously hard for the curse still had a firm hold on his body. He roared in conflict, trying his best to fight it but it just took over him like a virus. He spat on the torch and it instantly set alight, shocking Naomi and annoying the others. They had been so close...right? He stomped angrily on the ground, waving about his overly large fists about, sending a treacherous ripple across the sky and air. In the process he nearly dropped his torch right on top of Tsukasa, but luckily he lunged out of the way just in time for the CTG to pick it back up again.

"Phew!" He exclaimed, rushing over to his sister. "That was close? What are you doing Ai, hurry up and seal him!"

"It's not that easy!" she retorted, shielding her eyes as the fire burnt bright on his torch.

"Shinozaki, is it time for the spell yet?"  
"Uh...yeah I'll go and-"

"Mummy?"  
A little blonde girl with sapphire eyes and pigtails ran in front of them, not realising the Crazy Torched guy was right behind her, burning flames right behind her...

**eeek! Another Cliff hanger**

**re uploaded after paragraphing complaints. Sorry about that, I didn't realise that Doc Manager didn't preserve them.**

**mwhaha I am evil aren't i? Feel free to rant in the reviews （ｖ＾＿＾）ｖ**

**KAWAII FACE IS KAWAII (・ω・)ノ**


	33. Chapter 33 - The Sacrifice

**Sorry for the delay i've been super busy at school this week! But we are almost finished; one more chapter, then the epilogue...**

**I might cry! Love ya 3**

"KYAAAAAAA!"

"WHHOAAAAAAAAAA!"

"Yosh, IS THAT YOU?"

"AYUMI! Thank god your safe!"

"Did we break the curse?"

Ume grinned at her mother, her amethyst purple eyes gleaming just like Tsukasa's when he smiled or laughed. But then was not a situation when Tsukasa would be happy or chuckling. In fact it was the complete opposite; his eyes were wide with absolute terror. The beast loomed over the little girl, shocked by her sudden appearance as many others of the party were including Ai.

"Ume-chan! What are you doing here, run!" she cried, pointing rigorously at the entrance of the forest.

"Mikuni, it's not safe here!" added Hinoe, though not daring to go near the Crazy Torched guy.

"But I wanted to-"

"Goaaaaauhhhhhhhh ghhhahahhh..." he moaned behind her, making her leap up, stunned.

"Eeeek!"

Ume dodged out of the way just as a swipe of his huge gnarled hands almost hit her, squealing in shock, but she didn't look scared at all.

"Shinozaki, do the spell please before my idiot daughter does something stupid!" Ai demanded, grabbing her arm.

"But your daughter-"

"JUST DO IT!"

Hinoe gulped however nonetheless took out some mystic powder and scattered it around the circle of spiritual items. The Crazy Torched Guy was still lunging at Ume, who still didn't seem frightened and actually looked like she was enjoying herself as he tried to attack.

"Ume, come back here, what on earth are you doing?!" Ai yelled, trying to spot her daughter amongst the heavy span of the giant cursed beast.

"Wait," butted in Tsukasa, grabbing her shoulder. "I think...He's happy!"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Ai snapped in reply. "He's..."

But the more she looked at the scene, the more she could see a gruesome smile spread across his blood covered face and a small light flickering in his usual dull, lifeless eyes.

"Maybe this will help send him back along with Shinozaki's spell and our spiritual energy combined!" he suggested with a raised tone, since he was getting tired of waiting for something to happen.

"But we can't trust that will happen!" countered Hinoe, who had just finished spreading a bright yellow glow around the CTG. "It's a big risk Mikuni!"

Tsukasa looked at Ai right int the eye, making her remember all the times when they were children when he had given her that look.

"Shinozaki, proceed with the spell," she ordered, shaking Tsukasa away from her. "We don't have much time."

"Right."

Hinoe rushed up to the light and muttered some strange forgein words that even Ai couldn't understand. Flickers of light and dark grey shadows flared across the scene, blinding the CTG's line of vision ever so slightly. Another blast of wind hit them harshly, practically knocking tiny Ume off her feet. She was taken aback but didn't cry out; instead she just brushed the dirt off her skirt and stumbled back up to face the giant.

"Please don't hurt them," she whispered kindly. "They haven't done anything wrong, so just come along and we can go somewhere else!"

She was about to move closer to the beast but both Tsukasa and Ai yelled at her to stop.

"Ume, Hinoe is in the process of a VERY important spell! STAY AWAY!"

"But Mummy..."

"Listen to your mother UME!"

"NO! Why won't anyone listen to me?!" Ume cried pushing away from both of them. The CTG was screeching in confusion and pain as the yellow glow turned bright orange, firey like the depths of hell. Whatever Hinoe's spell had been, it was clearly working. Satoshi and Naomi were standing at the sidelines of the whole situation, their expressions alert and strong, though neither of them had much of a clue with what was going on. All they knew was that Hinoe had cast a succesful spell to seal him off but Ume apparently, was getting in the way of it.

"He's good! It's not his fault he's different, he just wants to make friends!" she insisted, again trying to waddle over to him but was pushed back roughly by a protective Tsukasa.

"Ume, listen to me. We have to seal him back where he belongs with the other two existing in the Yagarhori bloodline to destroy heavenly host. Then our energy can help destory it, okay, do you get it now?"

"He's...Going?"

The Crazy Torched guy groaned deeply again like he understood what they were saying. Although mentally disabled by what little power was left in the evil space, and not to mention physically restricted, he still understood the other humans deeply through their emontions and even, their words. Although having only been in the presence of Ume for no less then a few minutes, he was glad that she wasn't judging him via his awful appearence or nasty, creepy voice.

"Just be quiet Mikuni!" growled Hinoe under her breath. "The effect is entering it's final stages!"

"Alright, everybody join hands!" orded Ai, grabbing onto Tsukasa's and Hinoe's. Ume went ahead and grabbed onto Tsukasa's other hands, but he shook his head so she limped away, pouting. Satoshi and Naomi joined the circle of people until they were all surrounding the Crazy Torched Guy who was writhing in obvious pain.

"Everyone repeat after me in a anti-clockwise order please," began Hinoe, taking a deep breath. "Tenjin Elementary space be destoryed..."

Ai, Tsuka and Satoshi repeated it after each other, followed by Naomi.

"Ne kawa shattie na na onne."

"May our power, ne fair hettip hena..."

Ume wasn't the only one stunned by the strange chant they were muttering. The CTG was staring at them, his large palms shaking as the eeire chanting surrounded him, filling his ears continuously until he was sure they would burst.

"Neka Shitte oh fwa la me eko sii yahk towaa!"

Another bright light, this time blue, surrounded the circle, though oddly it was shining in Ume's direction as well even though she wasn't part of the chant. The Crazy Torched guy suddenly felt an urge to speak, but only the same old disgruntled noise poured out of his warped lips. Instead, something seemed to take control of him, pushing his limbs out until he swore they would snap off. However, he found himself suddenly blind, and to the outsiders, the cursed beast had turned into a dark blue rip in the atmosphere.

"Did we do it?" asked Naomi eargerly, though shielding her chocolate brown eyes from the sudden change in light tones.

"Im not sure..." replied Hinoe and Ai in unison, glancing into the strange hole where the Crazy Torched Guy had stood moments ago. There was a breif moment of silence until there was something that sounded like a clap of thunder, and a familiar, high pitched voice filled the air.

"Mother...Mummmmeeeeee..."

There was no mistaking it, Satoshi thought, that voice was most definitely Sachiko's!

"Whhyy Mummmeeeee...Why did he kill usssssssss?"

Her voice disappeared with a cruel cackle coming from a man, who had a harsh and deep voice that scared Ume the second she heard his first word.

"Mwhaha, hahaha! You'll always relive this memory even after you die, Shinozaki!"

"STOP IT!"

This voice was much clearer as if it was closer to them now, like it was in their world almost instead of Sachiko's supposed memories.

"Please...I've relived the hatred passed around that day too many times..."

"Is that..." began Naomi, throwing a suggestive look at Satoshi.

"Yoshie's spirit!" he finished, with clear fear in his voice.

"Ooouuugggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

"What's going on Mikuni?" questioned Hinoe, trying to stay calm though you could tell she was just as scared as all the others. Ai shook her head.

"I..this wasn't supposed to happen...the book said...!"

"Ai, don't tell me you've done something wrong?!" shouted Tsukasa from across the circle, completly ignoring the hurt groaning from inside the strange hole.

"Wait...I've awakened...FINALLY. FINALLY."

Yoshie appeared in full, yet she looked fine, in good health, clutching a small wooden frame with a old photo of a younger Sachiko.

"Yoshie? Wait, will you-"

"No child, i have not come to hurt you..." she said softly to Satoshi in response. "I have come to deliver good and bad news."

"Get on with it then!" snapped Ai rudely, though she instantly regretted it.

"You have sealed of the 'Crazy Torched Guy' you speak of, or more spesificly, a decendent of the damned line of the princaple i cursed."

Sighs of relief could be heard echoed around the circle. They had succeded! Ai however, was more sceptical since she hadn't forgotten the spirit had also mention 'bad news' as well as the good.

"Is there a but, Shinozaki?"

"Yes. Rewards always come with a catch...Line of the Mikuni, you should know that by far." "Just tell us!"

"Your spiritual energy was not enough to destroy the space i created out of hurt and my longing for vengance. We need more, or Sachiko will rebuild herself with the spiritual energy you have given and she will carry on taking victims."

"That can't happen!" cried Naomi. "Thats just horrible!"

"What is their to be done, child?"

Everyone stared at the floor, all ideas vanished from their now blank minds. It was going to have been all in vain, Ai thought to herself sadly, all that time she spend would be wasted, all the effort gone into compelete nothingness. In someways, they'd be actually helping Sachiko! She felt like she was about to give up until she spotted Ume, shivering in the corner like a lost lamb.

"No..." Tsukasa whispered, catching his sister's eye. "Don't even think about it."

"It might be the only way," she argued sadly. "We can use Ume's energy!"

"But how awful that would be for child!" shouted Hinoe. "You do realise what that will do to a gifted child of her premature age!?"

"Yes," Ai replied, though her voice wobbled slightly. "She will become similar to the Crazy Torched Guy. Scarred for life."

"You can't do that!" Yelled Satoshi and Naomi, both shocked that Ai was even considering the possibility. They all started yelling at her, especially Tsukasa who was very close to his little niece and was if anything, a little too protective over her.

"FOR GODNESS SAKE!" she screamed eventually. "Why make me look like the bad guy?! Do you want Heavenly Host to stay, get stronger, and take even more victims?"

"No, but-"

"Exactly! So just let me do what I want, she's my daughter!"

An unhealthy voice and mind was taking over Ai, consuming her thoughts with horrific images of Heavenly host.

"You idiot! Do you want to lose ANOTHER child?"

"Huh?" Ume finally spoke. "Another...child?"

"There you go, idiot brother, blabbing again. Ume-chan, ignore your stupid uncle and come to this hole okay?"

Yoshie smiled, although she really hated seeing the conflict that was enrolling before her.

"Okay mummy..."

"My name is Yoshie, Line of Mikuni, I just need you to say these words: Mi ku nee ilp pa ne fa all' and all will be sorted." Yoshie eplained, reaching out for her hand friendlily. She was about to do it, but Tsukasa's sharp voice cut across them like a knife.

"Don't do it Ume, please listen to me!"

"Sorry, uncle, but i have to do it for mummy you see."

"Fine, theres no convincing anyone. Well, instaed of Ume giving up part of her spiritual energy, I'll give you ALL of mine!"

Everyone gasped including Yoshie, but Tsukasa didn't take back his reckless words in an instant.

"Thats ludircous!" Said Hinoe, stunned.

"I'm not going to let this destroy Ume," he exclaimed, pulling her gently out of the circle reassuringly. "I'm going to to it."

"You do realise the extent this will take you..." murmered Yoshie, recovering from shock.

"Yeah, yeah, I read in Ai's book somewhere that i'll have to die or something. I don't care you know, I DON'T CARE!"

"Not only that, but you'll go to heavenly host right before you destroy it. You'll actually be there!" cried his sister. although she didn't try to stop him.

"That's a...benifit, shall we say." Tsuaka said, unexpectedly, making Naomi do a double take. A benifit? "I'll be able to meet Yui again..."

"...I see. Tsukasa, repeat the spiritual words I mentoined earlier; theres no time for goodbyes."

"Fine. Mi ku nee ilp pa ne fa all..."

And with that, Tsukasa and Yoshie vanished into the black hole from sight. All that was left was four shocked people gathered in a circle, around a crying, distressed little girl.

**Bet you didn't see that coming? HAHA I BET I FOOLED YOU WITH THE LAST CHAPTER!**

**Who wants a uncle/bigbrotherfigure ****like**** Tsukasa? Me :3**


	34. Chapter 34 - Moving on

**Chapter 34**

**THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! *cries* **

**I APOLOGISE FOR THE SPELLING MISTAKES IN ADVANCE FOR THIS CHAP**

**well it's not even a chapter really.**

**It wasn't the last chapter 33, cos that would just be mean to not let you see what happened with the other other curse.**

**Twist ahead and goodbye...**

**UNTIL THE EPILOUGE!**

Several days had passed since the attempt to break the Shinozaki bloodline's curse, and destroying Heavenly Host. Both were succesful, but had varying degrees in that. Yoshiki and Ayumi had woken up to them lying in rubble, sirens wailing around them, hurting their tender ears. It turned out after the explosion, Yoshiki's flat had been set on fire and almost everything was destroyed, apart from the couch which was mostly still in tact. It had also wrecked the flat above, below and either side from it, and the people living their were extremely annoyed, however when they saw the extent to him as his girlfriends injuries (Yoshiki broke his arm and Ayumi inflamed lungs) they all decided to ease it off a little.

After several fire fighters hosed down the blaze, they managed to find them both, holding hands in the rubble and shipped them off in the same ambulance straight away, since they seemed inseparable. They stayed alone in hospital for only a day, before they had four visitors; Satoshi, Naomi, Hinoe, and surprisingly, Yoshiki's younger sister, Miki. Her visit had been brief though, but Yoshiki didn't mind that much since he had so much to talk about with his other friends. Hinoe had explained what had happened, and Ayumi blamed herself more then anything for what happened with Tsukasa.

"I should of been there..." she moaned as everyone was gathered around her bed. "It was my fault, i could of helped, but instead I was selfish."

"Don't be ridiculous," Yoshiki told her, gently stroking her hair. "It was for the best."

Hinoe had explained about Tsukasa and Ai's disagreement, and how Ai had packed her bags and left, mumbling about visiting a strange country, and had entrusted her daughter to Hinoe who didn't even refuse. Hinoe thought she was selfish and inconsiderate, but in reality Ai just wanted to forget her life and move on, to a life without spirits and that kind of thing. Ume would just be a constant reminder of her mistakes, and especially now, of Tsukasa. Plus, there was someone she needed to find, someone she thought she had left behind a long time ago...

After Tsukasa sacrificed himself, Ume didn't stop crying, and for days she wouldn't talk, move or eat until Hinoe took her on her second visit to see Ayumi in hospital. Although traumatised, she was happy to see the young woman that she admired greatly, and of course Yoshiki, who seemed to be warming up to the little girl more then when they had met in the park. She got on well with Hinoe and her parents, but desperately wanted to live with Ayumi, even though they didn't really know each other that well. Instead of saying how she felt, Ume spent the rest of the time drawing endless pictures of her and Tsukasa, adding a zoomed in picture of her mother with a big, thick, red cross scrawled across it quite plainly showing she didn't care for her mother anymore. Despite her age, she had turned dramatically mature in just a few days, looking after herself when Hinoe was busy and reading school books, since Hinoe decided it was best for her to recover a bit until she was ready to go to school. As for her baby sister*, she went to live with Ume's grandparents on the other side of the country, when Ai had been super busy with work and could not look after both her children, even with Tsukasa's help along the side.

Naomi and Satoshi had just gotten back to school, trying to forget about the whole incident, but both of them knew that they would never forget it, even if everyone else who were not involved had completely forgotten it. Naomi was decidedly happy, living with her knowledge-of-Seikos-existence-improved* mother, however she realised thats she hadn't recieved a reply from Seiko at all since her last aeroplane. But the truth hit her; of course now that Heavenly Host had been destroyed, Seiko would be unable to send her short but sweet messages, since in almost everybody's mind, the space had never even existed in the first place. Although deeply saddened by this, she knew that in her heart, it was for the best, and most of all it would be what Seiko would of wanted. That was what she was trying to say in her notes, however at the time they weren't descriptive enough to help her before Tsukasa told them the plan.

Ayumi lay in her hospital bed, staring up at the cream ceiling with Yoshiki beside her. Even though he had been discharged a few days before her, he hadn't left her side once, although she demanded he should leave her. Yoshiki had insisted to stay, partly because he actually had no where to go now that his flat was all messed up, and the building work was going to take absouloutely ages. On the other hand, Satoshi had invited him to camp out at his for a couple of weeks whilst he was making living arrangements with Ayumi, who was decidedly going to stay in her parents house. They weren't entirely sure what to do next, but Ayumi had learnt to live the moment, so hadn't made a fuss like she would usually do in a situation like this.

"Ayumi, i'm gonna go round to Satoshi's. Thank god I had some stuff at his house already!"

Yoshiki had told her after a long silence of them both just thinking.

"That's fine, of course." she replied, tugging the visitors band off his wrist. "I'll be...right here."

"Thanks," he grinned, kissing her lightly on her forehead. Various tubes stuck in and out of her, since her lungs weren't propably working after she had hyperventilated and had immense smoke inhalation, which didn't help at all in her case. "See ya later..."

Ayumi sighed as he left the room, realising how lonely it was to be in hospital all by herself, especially without Yoshiki, who always cared for her no matter what. Satoshi must of felt awful back when he had passed out, all alone in his little room...Ayumi shook her head violently. She should know by now never to dwell on the past. Suddenly, a pretty blonde nurse entered the room with a cork clipboard in her hands, smiling warmly at Ayumi.

"You're very popular today, miss," she commented. "You have another visitor; and since she's not close or a family member, aI have to ask for your permission."

"Um, sure," she said with a shrug. Who had come now? "Send them in."

The nurse disappeared momentairly and reappaered with a young woman in tow, with ginger hair and cool purple eyes.

"You have 20 minutes, i'm afraid," the nurse quickly mentioned before she left. "It's almost the end of visiting times."

"Thanks."

Ai perched on the edge of the chair next to the bed, not wanting to look Ayumi directly in the eyes.

"I presume you knew what happened," she murmered, staring at the floor. "The other day."

"Yes." Ayumi replied quietly. "You actually considered sacrificing your own daughter?"

"It wasn't like that!" Ai argued. "I couldn't of done any thing else, Tsukasa-"

"Tsukasa did what you would never do in a million years. He gave up his own life, his own energy to destory Heavenly Host."

"..."

An awkward silence settled between the two, making Ayumi feel even more infuriated, and Ai even more bored and confused.

"Why did you even come Ai?"

"Theres one last thing I have to clear up with you Shinozaki, before I start my new life." she explained, now turning to finally face her.

"Make it quick." Ayumi replied inbetween coughs.

"Well, the first Shinozaki explained to you the origins of the gifted, didn't she?"

"Yes, wait how do you-"

"Good. Then you will understand what i'm about to say. You may have broken the curse, but only on yourself."

"...What?!"

"You have only broken the curse of yourself."

"I heard you...but, how?"

"Its explainitry if you just go over the whole story again. I'm not going to elaberate."

"What am I supposed to do?" she whispered, clutching the side of her bed. "If I have a daughter..."

"She'll have to do the same as you have done, with her respected partner of course, between the ages of 16-25. It's fate."

"How do you know this?"

Ai's face darkened, clearly showing she was adement to telling Ayumi anything, so she closed her mouth.

"But she won't...get the 'key' unless she knows the story, and the first Shinozaki can only be awakened ever centurary or so. You'll have to pass it down."

"Right..."

"Listen Ayumi," Ai spoke, looking at her with narrowed eyes. "I know it's a big burden to put on you, but it's just..."

"Fate. Yeah I get it."

"Your not going to freak out then?" Ai asked, confused.

"Why would I? If i was capable of breaking my own curse, all the generations that come after me will be able to do it too!"

"...If thats your way of seeing things."

Ai looked like she was about to get up and leave, but Ayumi found herself tugging her back down onto the chair.

"What will you do now? You can't just forget all your memories like you say so."

"Ayumi, child," she said, looking down at her wearily. "You have yet to come so far in this world. There are many things you don't know, like the fact that Azusa is in fact my cousin."

"Huh?"

"Well actually, you know that now, but it's a long story. One i'll forget one day."

"It's sad ya know..." Ayumi told her with a wistful smile. "You leave your children behind."

"I've done it before." Ai shrugged tiredly. Without even saying goodbye, Ai strided out of the room her head held high, but Ayumi's look after her was not one of admiration.

"Sometimes..." Ayumi mumbled to herself, putting her hands in the air. "Life isn't fair...but that's just an exsuse to be sad. Every minute of sadness is one of happiness you can never, ever get back...That's why from today, i'm not going care what people think about me. I'm going to live life, but, this time, my way."

***Ack I kind of forgot about her. Whoopsie!**

***Great Huh?**

**Thanks for reading, until the last chapter in a couple of days**

**Poffor xoxox**


	35. Chapter 35 - Epilogue

**Epilogue  
That's all for today, I know it isn't much but I just wanted to wrap the whole thing up**

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Ayumi left the hospital three days later to stay with Hinoe for a couple of weeks. Her friendship with her sister had improved vastly since she had broken her curse, since a sudden bond of recognition had been established between them. She spent as much time as possible fussing over Ume, since she felt very sorry for the little girl and all she had gone through at such a young age.

She met up with Yoshiki frequently, but it was often rushed as Yoshiki was working over time to pay his neighbours for the damage cost, to re buy all his stuff, and to his boss for destroying his treasured bass he had borrowed. He told her as soon as he had enough money, he'd buy her a proper flat with big rooms, and a study for her art. In return, she snagged some money off her parents and Hinoe to help fund for a new flat.

It wasn't long until they had moved into their new flat, which was spacious, airy and really homey in Ayumi's opinion. Straight away they painted everything sky blue, grass green and sunny yellow, even if they weren't exactly Yoshiki's favourite colours, they were still happy and hopeful colours. Ayumi went back to school for the final year with Satoshi, however Yoshiki and Naomi both dropped out, each with their own various reasons. Yoshiki simply didn't have time or even a reason to stay in school, and continued to work full day shifts at the music store to pay for everything. Naomi on the other hand, went to a specialised medicine academy, where she trained to work as a nurse, especially for children.

Hinoe stayed at home, still working as a medium, using her own room, hence giving Ume Ayumi's old room without hesitation. It wasn't like she was going to come back! The curse was still strong on Hinoe, but she never complained, and seemed perfectly satisfied with her work and the company of Ume. As for Ume, she started displaying immense intellectual knowledge, and managed to tutor herself at home with various text books and online courses, even for someone of such a young age. Of course she missed her mother and sister, but definitely missed her beloved uncle the most out of everyone. She wondered what he would of seen in his final moments; did he meet the person that he had talked about to much recently? No one knew now...

As for Ran and Azusa, well, the two of them kind of drifted away from the kisaragi's and moved to another town with a large drama school. Azusa thought about confessing her conflicted feelings for Yoshiki, but knew that deep down, it would cause more trouble then it was all worth.

Skip ten years, and the two couples had become families, each with their own feel to them. They had both stayed together for all that time (Yoshiki and Ayumi broke up briefly when Azusa got a bit...involved, but for only like three days or something) never forgetting the pasts that they had left behind.

Satoshi and Naomi got married, Yoshiki obviously being the best man, and Ayumi being the chief bridesmaid, even though they both knew Naomi had imagined that Seiko would of been in that position. Soon after, they had their first child, a little girl with brown hair and eyes just like her parents. Satoshi didn't even refuse the name Naomi gave to her; Seiko Yui Mochida.

Two years later, they had a son, Sakutaro Mochida, and though unplanned, had yet another child two years later, this time, you guessed it, named Mayu Mochida! Seiko, being the oldest, was by far the bossiest, using her advanced intelligence to boss around her clumsy younger brother, who spend most of his time reading books and daydreaming, though he had a, let's say intense obsession over cameras, which was exactly opposite to Mayu, who was extremely small and shy, flinching whenever she saw a flash or heard a large noise.

Naomi loved all her children, and spent as much time possible caring for them, taking mostly afternoon shifts at the local children's hospital when they were all at school. Satoshi on the other hand, took his charisma and popularity and became a renowned TV presenter, mostly for chat shows, so he was away most nights, but Naomi didn't seem to mind, since it all worked out for their large family.

Ayumi and Yoshiki took a different route, deciding not to get married, but of couse spent all their time together. Ayumi graduated from art collage successfully, becoming a children's book illustrator, as well as the author for a few of them as well! Yoshiki, using his musical talent of course, became a music producer after being spotted djing at a local club. They had only one child, a daughter, but the gender didn't bit her Ayumi that much. If they had had a son, she'd of had to of told him about the curse anyway, her being a girl just made the whole thing a lot easier. She was cute and blonde, the tips of her straight hair blue, an extremely rare genetic. Her eyes were sapphire just like Ayumi's, yet she had sharp cheekbones just like her father. Little Hoshi was very pretty.

The couple told her the story about the three gifted sisters from a very young age, and she was intrigued by it, since she was gifted herself though didn't realise night Ayumi would whisper one of the words from the spell, over and over until the girl knew it off by heart. She wouldn't find out how useful that was for many years.

But as she grew up, she showed neither the arty skills her mother was proud of, nor the musical vibe that ran through Yoshiki's veins. Do you know what she was really obsessed about?

Indie horror survivor games...

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LOL  
ヾ(＠⌒ー⌒＠)ノ

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**Thank you everyone who have read this story, especially those who have followed it since the very start. It means a a lot, really! I got an insane amount of reviews last chapter, all sad about it ending and of course i am too...But we need to move on; I don't want to milk Bittersweet forever, 35 chapters is enough. I see these fanfics at like 60 chapters and although they sound good, i read them and their unappealing, since some just ramble on. That's not for every 60+ chapter story of course, but i just don't think Bittersweet would of worked well if i aimed for that level! O.o  
I will NOT be writing a sequal sorry, since ^^^ and I just don't feel there would be a way to make another plot because they kinda solved everything and stuffs but we'll see I suppose.  
**

**Loads of people were annoyed with Ai in the last couple of chapters. Well for once, I AGREE! What kind of mother is willing to sacrifice her child!? Seriously! Oh yeah, I was very surprised when no one commented about the 'another child' part. Just sayin'  
And yes I am still writing Modern Girl, i've just been SUPER busy and plus, it's not as easy to write as this one as it's not canon and its an AU. I feel like this genre is much easier to write then that one, but that's just my oppinion.  
So whilst I'm finishing Modern girl, I'm going to lay low for a while and probably just Beta Read for a little bit I suppose. Any requests? I beta read corpse party, mad father, misao, pokemon, full metal alchemist and legend of zelda games if your interested. If someone's looking for a better reader, please direct them to me, maybe? :3**

** beta/5600415/Pofforx**

**Anyone got deviantART? I got it last night but i'm a bit of a N00b.  
.com -feel free to add me friends.  
THIS STORY WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE WITHOUT**

**Spudly777  
For all the great ideas! I couldn't of done it without you! :3  
Special people who reviewed a lot**

**LittlePi46  
A-Wolf-Named-KC  
TheKittenAuthor  
wanna see a trick**

**Thanks guys! Of course everyone else who just left one are AWESOME!  
Of course that's not the end of me lol. I'm always watching...  
Come and say hi sometime!  
Good bye forever (from Bittersweet)  
P.S WHAT DO U WANT ME TO DO NEXT THE POPULAR(EST) WINS OKAY BYE**

**xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxxoooxooxxoxx**


	36. AUTHORS NOTE SLASH ANNOUNCEMENT THINGY

*The following 'chapter' is simply an authors note and may be deleted in due time*

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**Hello! Did you think Bittersweet was gone for good? NOPE xD**

**I've come to announce that i'm going to be writing some concluding one shots (hopefully in a series) for characters that I didn't really give a proper sending off to.**

**Tsukasa (prepare for Tsukasa x Yui maybe eh i dunno)**

**Azusa and Ran**

**Ai**

**Hinoe and Ume**

**So those are just the ones planned just to give you a little insight to what happened next. Just because. And partly because Bittersweet is like my little baby ;-)**

**If you have any suggestions I may add to the list depending on who/what you want. But I think the characters above are the ones that I didn't really conclude that well in the epilogue (Especially Tsukasa).**

**I know it may seem that i'm dragging it on a bit, but I genuinely think that it would be a good idea and you guys ****would enjoy it...?**

**ANYWAYZ, do leave a review in whether this is a good idea and/or more suggestions on concluding one shots that might fit in. I'm not going to do tens of them of course, just a few.**

**As you may imagine, I'm super excited for the whole Tsukasa one as I feel he is a rare/not well described/underated slightly character. BTW I hate that people hate Yui's back story. Personally I love it, and think the whole Tsukasa relationship kinda reflecting Yoshiki and Ayumi is clever and moreover very cute!**

**The reason I wanted to do this is actually because me in myself was curious what had happened to Tsukasa...Ah well whatever.**

**LEAVE A REVIEW IF THIS IS A GOOD IDEA AND SUGGESTIONS PLUS WHETHER YOU WILL FOLLOW IT AND STUFFS OKAY LOVE YOU BYE XX**

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*Thanks for reading*


	37. CONCLUDER UP GUYS xD

**AFTER BEING UP FOR A WEEK THIS WILL SELF DESTRUCT THANK YOU**

**hey guys! Got part one of Tsukasas story up now!**

**Bittersweet Endings link: s/10722132/1/Bittersweet-Endings**

**or type in bittersweet endings Pofforx **

**That is the first part of the first story right there! Sorry if the title is a bit boring but whatever...**

**Follow it and leave a review with 'FOLLOW' on the end to show you came from here and I'll follow you :)**

**BYE BYE FOREVER**

s/10722132/1/Bittersweet-Endings


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